The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has announced efforts to strengthen its ranks and challenge the current administration in the upcoming 2027 general elections.
The party revealed that it is in discussions to bring back influential politicians who had previously left the party, in a bid to boost its chances of winning the next elections.
In an interview with Channels Television, the PDP’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, stated that the party’s loss in the 2023 presidential election was largely due to the defection of prominent figures such as Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to other parties just months before the polls.
Abdullahi expressed confidence that the party could have won the election had these key politicians remained within the PDP.
“We have lost Kwankwaso, we have lost Peter Obi — all of these people — imagine if they were in the party, we would have gone on to win the elections,” Abdullahi said.
He further remarked, “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.”
Abdullahi disclosed that ongoing discussions are aimed at bringing Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, his counterpart in the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), back into the PDP fold before the 2027 elections.
“Sure, discussion is ongoing,” he confirmed, adding, “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 our 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.”
The PDP’s efforts to reclaim its position in the nation’s political landscape underscore its determination to regain power and address the issues it believes have led to widespread dissatisfaction under the current administration.