By Chinelo Obogo
A former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has expressed doubt over the possibility of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Governor of Anambra State Peter Obi winning President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking in Lagos on Thursday, George stated that an alliance between Atiku and Obi would not guarantee a win against President Tinubu, because according to him, the coalition that joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC) came out due to personal ambitions and that it could disintegrate when the goals are not realised.
George said that Atiku knew he would never get the ticket in the PDP because it is the turn of the South and that it was why he spearheaded a coalition of opposition forces that joined the ADC. He then urged to party members who have defected to other parties, urging them to return to the PDP, because according to him, the PDP is the party that mentored and nurtured these individuals, and he believes it would be in their best interest to return.
“ I want to appeal to their inner thinking and their conscience to rethink. Can you leave your father’s house because it is leaking and go and be a tenant somewhere else? You were a model, you were respected, regarded, this same party mentored you to become whoever you are today. My advice, because they just started, is for them to be careful because there is no way you can compare their congregation to ours. No way!
“Our founding fathers came together and decided this country be divided into six geopolitical zones, and thereafter created six top positions. In other words, one of these six positions will go to every zone. Whether you are a minority or majority tribe, you will benefit.
“ General Buhari who ran this nation for eight years, where is he from? Is he not Katsina? Is he from Lagos? Or is he from Calabar? Turn by turn Nigeria limited. There is no chance by our party that somebody from the north will run in 2027. That will be insulting the founding fathers of the party. Most of them have passed to the great beyond,” he said.