Tension flared at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) North Central Zonal Congress in Jos, Plateau State, as Hon. Stephen Abraham Ajiya, a frontline aspirant for the position of National Vice Chairman, North Central, rejected mounting pressure from high-ranking party leaders to step down for a preferred candidate.

Ajiya was summoned to a closed-door caucus meeting with influential party figures, including the Governor of Plateau State, a former Governor of Niger State, and several senators. During the meeting, he was reportedly urged to withdraw from the race in favour of a candidate believed to be backed by the inner caucus of the party.

However, Ajiya vehemently refused to back down, insisting on a transparent and democratic election. “I can now understand why PDP is such a mess. I am going nowhere,” he declared. This bold stance reinforces his earlier accusations that elements within the party, working in alliance with external actors loyal to the ruling APC, are orchestrating a manipulation of the congress to install a pliant leadership in the zone.

Ajiya had previously accused two PDP leaders of spearheading a plot to impose a preferred candidate, Mr. Abdulraham, in a bid to compromise the PDP’s independence in the North Central region. “This is not democracy; it is subversion,” Ajiya warned in a recent press conference, calling on delegates to resist what he described as a dangerous attempt to collapse the PDP’s structures into the APC.

The congress continues amidst heightened anticipation, with all eyes fixed on Jos to see whether the PDP will rise to defend its democratic ideals or falter under the weight of its internal contradictions. Ajiya’s refusal to withdraw has drawn support from grassroots delegates and party loyalists who view him as a symbol of resistance against elite imposition and political compromise.