Former Lagos State governorship candidate Funso Doherty has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party, accusing the opposition party of deepening internal crises and abandoning the role of a credible alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Doherty, who contested the 2023 Lagos governorship election on the platform of the African Democratic Congress before later joining the PDP, announced his exit in a letter shared on his X handle. In the letter, he linked his decision to recent legal and political developments that, in his view, have compromised the party’s integrity and effectiveness.

Central to his grievance is a Court of Appeal ruling that nullified the PDP’s 2025 convention, effectively upending its leadership structure. Doherty said he had previously written to the President of the Court of Appeal, urging a swift resolution of multiple cases involving the party because of their implications for Nigeria’s electoral process and democratic stability.

According to him, the eventual judgment not only invalidated the convention but also handed control of the party machinery to a faction he claims is aligned with politicians sympathetic to the re-election of the APC at the federal level. He described this outcome as a betrayal of opposition politics and a blow to Nigerians seeking an alternative to the current administration.

Doherty argued that backing a leadership bloc perceived to be working in tandem with the ruling party amounted to endorsing policies that, in his assessment, have worsened poverty, insecurity and the cost of living. He said he could not, in good conscience, remain in a party whose internal dynamics now appear to support what he called a “tragic travesty.”

He stressed that Lagos residents, who have long hoped for meaningful improvements in governance, deserve a stronger and more coherent opposition. For years, he noted, he has advocated unity among opposition forces, warning that Nigeria’s fragile democracy cannot withstand further fragmentation among parties that claim to stand for accountability, constitutional order and citizens’ welfare.

Doherty said his departure from the PDP is driven not only by disillusionment with its internal crisis but also by his belief that a broader, united opposition front in Lagos and nationally is urgently needed. He pledged to continue working toward that goal outside the PDP structure.