• PDP govs absent at meeting

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

Top members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, former Senate president, David Mark and former Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, met yesterday, in Abuja to perfect arrangement for a coalition of opposition politicians for the 2027 general elections.

Daily Sun reliably gathered that  the  meeting chaired by Mark is about plans by some opposition politicians to move to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a platform for the 2027 general elections.

Others in attendance included Liyel Imoke, Babangida Aliyu, Gabriel Suswam and Sam Egwu, former governors of Cross River, Niger, Benue and Ebonyi states.

Also present at the meeting were former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, former Minister of Police Affairs, Waziri Maina, Senator Abdul Ningi, Senator Tunde Ogbeha and former Minister of External Affairs, Chief Tom Ikimi.

At the end of the meeting which lasted for about four hours, PDP leaders, in a communique, bemoaned the state of the party, saying it is now a shadow of itself.

According to them, vested interests within the party, the alleged actions of the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government as well as inability of the PDP leader to obey its constitution has made the party chaotic.

“Since our loss in the last presidential election and the exit of Dr. Iyorchia Ayu as National Chairman, our dear party has never been the same again.

“Vested interests from within and the irresponsible actions of the APC-led Federal Government which has been using state Institutions to stifle and destroy democracy knows no bounds.

“The inability of PDP leadership to lead the party by its constitution, rules and regulations led it into a chaotic and undisciplined party,” they stated.

The opposition leaders added that “the PDP, which is organic with discipline, capacity and history to lead and save Nigeria, is now a shadow of its old self. The heatwave unleashed by the APC-led Federal Government through threats, blackmail and patronage, has forced elected officers in government to abandon the PDP.

“The vision of the founding fathers for which the party was established and the role it played in restoring Nigeria as stable and united country and key player on the regional, continental, and global stage has been washed away just as our roles as the leader of the black race is now overtaken by smaller and less endowed countries.

“The APC government, which came into being on the false and evil propaganda, to save Nigeria from the PDP is now a disaster to our nation and must be voted out of power.”

The PDP leaders, while stating that Nigeria is now a diminished country and an embarrassment on the world stage under the APC administration, charged the coalition partners to work out modalities of winning all elections taking into consideration local and national peculiarities.

They implored all well-meaning PDP members and other patriotic Nigerians to join the coalition.

In the aftermath of the 2023 general elections, Atiku has been championing a coalition of opposition parties to wrestle power from the APC in the next general elections.

However, the PDP leadership and governors elected on the platform of the party have consistently said that the party would not go into a coalition with any political party.

However, amidst internal wrangling within the party, there have been defections by the PDP members to the APC. So far, the Governors Sheriff Oborevwori and Umo Eno of Delta and Akwa Ibom states, alongside party leaders and lawmakers from their states have joined the ruling party, while there are apprehension that about five more governors might be on their way out of the party.

Since 2023, the opposition party has been contending with different crises. Immediately after the ouster of the former national chairman, Iyorochia Ayu, the party was polarised over whether or not the acting national chairman, Umar Damagum should be replaced with a substantive national chairman and which camp will produce Ayu’s successor.

The crisis deepened following moves by the South East chapter of the party to replace Senator Samuel Anyanwu with former National Youth Leader, Sunday Ude-Okoye as national secretary.

Nonetheless, the PDP’s 100th NEC on Monday, resolved that Anyanwu should continue in office as national secretary until the end of his tenure in December.

Nevertheless, a member of the party’s NEC, who was at the Atiku’s parley yesterday, told Daily Sun that the PDP had become unviable for the 2027 contest.

The NEC member explained that PDP leaders met to harmonise their position ahead of the formal unveiling of the ADC as the coalition party.

He said the PDP governors and leaders opposing coalition of opposition politicians for the 2027 elections, were speaking for themselves.

He said: “You are aware that some of our leaders are publicly canvassing support for the APC. What has the leadership done about it? So, those of us here will not leave the PDP, we will work for the coalition. Anybody who still wants to contest the 2027 elections in the PDP is free to go and waste his money.”