Abubakar Atiku, the 2023 presidential candidate of the People Democratic Party, has concluded that forming a coalition party remains the only way to remove President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 Presidential poll.
He made this argument at a PDP Governors Forum held in Ibadan on April 14th. Also, the former vice president took the coalition’s stand against eleven PDP governors who noted that they are not in support of the coalition.
The announcement made in the meeting where Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, was the chairman triggered different reactions among the party’s stakeholders. Meanwhile, Mr. Atiku, who it is believed is nursing the idea of going into the ring for the 2027 presidential poll, has been fully invested in the idea of coalition formation among oppositions to dethrone APC.
Recent reports have revealed that on the 20th of March, Atiku, LP’s Peter Obi, and SDP’s Nassir El-Rufai announced a merger geared at overthrowing President Tinubu. Before then, reports also noted that the ex-VP on March 8 revealed his attempt to create a merger of opposition groups aimed at bringing down the All Progressives Congress.
However, the College of Governors, which has never liked the coalition idea, has a different suggestion. As read out by Bala Mohammed, the PDP’s Communique stated that in the place of a merger of oppositions, individuals or parties who are interested could join the People’s Democratic Party instead. The Communique also communicated that the Party will be willing to welcome any individual who is interested in reclaiming power and fostering good governance in 2027. The Communique stated:
“Noting the nationwide speculations about a possible merger of political parties, groups and/or associations, the Forum resolved that the PDP will not join any coalition or merger.
However, the PDP as a major opposition party welcomes any party, persons or groups that are willing to join it with a view to wrestling power and enthroning good leadership in 2027.”
In response to this, Atiku, through his media Aide, Paul Ibe, noted that the governors are the key figures of any political party, not just in PDP. He also added that, however, they are as important as other party members, and also ordinary Nigerians. He further asserted that the party has grown into a Pan-Nigerian Movement. He also added that the governors’ take on the matter points to the need for a wider consultation on the matter.
Moreover, Atiku added that at the beginning of the journey, a poll was carried out internally to determine what should be done, and it landed on a coalition as the solution to saving Nigeria. He noted that it was a mere coincidence that they landed on it and therefore stated that they had more to align and realign ideas and even debate and dialogue on the matter.
Further affirming his initial statement, the ex-VP noted that, not being in support of the idea doesn’t reduce the importance of the governors. However, as important as they are, the ordinary Nigerian is also critical in this case, and the project that is being embarked on involves saving the country, which is everyone’s business.
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