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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has disclosed that discussions are ongoing to bring back some prominent politicians into its fold.
The deputy national publicity secretary of the party, Ibrahim Abdullahi, made the disclosure while featuring on Channels Television programme, ‘Sunrise Daily,’ on Monday.
Abdullahi said if the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, and his counterpart in the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, were members of the PDP during the election, the party would have defeated the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Kwankwaso and Obi dumped the PDP in March and May 2022, few months before the 2023 presidential election.
“We have lost Kwankwaso, we have lost Peter Obi — all of these people — imagine if they are in the party, we will have gone to win the elections.
“This APC said they defeated us with one million plus (votes), just one of these names that I mentioned would have covered that gap for us and we would have been in power today and certainly Nigerians would not have been confronted with this despair and despondency in the land,” he said.
Asked if PDP is working to bring Obi, Kwankwaso, and others back to the party before the 2027 election, Abdullahi replied: “Sure, discussion is ongoing.”
He added: “You will see Peter Obi discussing with Atiku, you will see Peter Obi meeting with (Nasir) El-Rufai. Party management is a very difficult thing and we are doing the best in the quagmire that we have found ourselves. Rest assured, there would be light at the end of the tunnel. We have learnt our lessons in a bitter way.”
PDP was engulfed in an internal crisis in the build up to the 2023 general elections, with five governors in the party refusing to back its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Several months after the election, the crisis within the opposition party has continued unabated.
The PDP recently inaugurated a disciplinary and reconciliation and committees to help “build a stronger and more united party that is ready to serve the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.”
