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Turaki-led PDP faction says its members will not support President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
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The faction says the reported directive for PDP candidates to support Tinubu is meant for “pretenders” working for the APC.
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It says any opposition alliance should be among opposition parties, not with the governing APC.
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The faction urges members to remain steadfast as it awaits the Court of Appeal’s judgment on its leadership dispute.
October 20, (THEWILL) – A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Kabiru Turaki, has rejected any support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, faulting Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over his reported call for PDP candidates to back the President.
The faction, through its Interim National Working Committee (NWC), also rejected the political alliance being promoted as a “rainbow coalition”, saying any alliance involving opposition parties should be aimed at challenging the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), rather than supporting it.
The position was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong.
Ememobong said the reported call by Wike for PDP candidates to collapse their structures and support Tinubu was “nothing new”, but insisted that it did not represent the position of what the faction described as genuine PDP members.
“The news credited to Minister Nyesom Wike that @OfficialPDPNig candidates should collapse their structures and support the re-election of President Bola Tinubu is nothing new, except for the fact that his message is not directed at real PDP members. The message is meant for persons who, like him, are pretenders in the opposition but are working for the governing party,” he said.
The faction said PDP members opposed to the Tinubu administration would not participate in what it described as support for the APC-led Federal Government and its policies.
“The true and principled members of the Peoples Democratic Party are not part of the shameless, self-serving support for the APC-led Federal Government and its destructive policies,” it said.
According to the faction, the responsibility of an opposition party was to provide an alternative to the government in power.
“The paramount duty of the opposition is to provide an alternative to the incumbent, not to massage their ego,” it said.
The faction also rejected any alliance between opposition parties and the governing APC.
“If at all opposition parties are to have an alliance, it will be amongst themselves, not with the governing party,” it said.
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It described the “rainbow coalition” as “the greatest threat to electoral democracy and the fastest way of railroading the country into an electoral monarchy.”
The faction further urged Nigerians to be cautious of what it called “elite accommodation and state capture masquerading as broad-based political collaboration.”
It called on its members to remain committed to the party as they await the outcome of the ongoing legal dispute over the PDP’s leadership.
The faction said its case before the Court of Appeal had been heard and that it was awaiting judgment.
“We urge all true and faithful members of the Peoples Democratic Party to remain steadfast as we await the judiciary’s decision, hopeful that it will return our party to its true owners,” it said, adding that the judiciary was aware of the urgency of the matter, stressing that “justice delayed is justice denied.”
The faction also urged Nigerians to use the 2027 election to reject politicians it described as “insensitive and irresponsible”.
“The election next year provides a great opportunity to vote out these insensitive and irresponsible political actors,” it said.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
