A political storm is brewing as the anti-Tinubu coalition, led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has accused governors of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of sabotaging efforts to build a formidable opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Wednesday, coalition spokesperson Salihu Moh. Lukman lambasted the PDP Governors Forum for rejecting the initiative to form a broad-based coalition of opposition parties and interest groups, describing their stance as a betrayal of democratic values and a gift to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The backlash followed the PDP Governors Forum’s April 14 resolution to distance the party from the proposed coalition, a move Lukman said signals the party’s continued descent into political irrelevance.
“For over a decade since it lost power, Nigerians waited for the PDP to rise and provide the vibrant opposition the country desperately needs. Instead, the party went into hibernation while the Tinubu-led APC found willing collaborators to bury it,” Lukman said.
He accused the governors of hijacking party structures and usurping the authority of the PDP’s statutory organs. According to him, this internal manipulation is paving the way for the ruling party to maintain its grip on power.
Lukman singled out Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for enabling the APC’s hold on the PDP, claiming his influence is less about governance and more about neutralising any credible challenge to Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
“Wike is not the FCT Minister because of performance but because he has succeeded in crippling the PDP’s ability to present a united front in 2027,” Lukman alleged.
He further claimed that the governors’ recent moves are aimed at reviving the PDP just enough to split opposition votes in 2027, thus playing into the hands of the APC.
“This forum of PDP governors is knowingly or unknowingly acting as spoilers for President Tinubu. Their opposition to the coalition is nothing but a political miscalculation that may cost Nigeria dearly,” he warned.
Lukman stressed that the primary objective of the coalition is to rescue Nigeria’s democracy by rebuilding public trust in political institutions and restoring credibility to the political process.
Highlighting the dysfunction within the PDP, he noted that the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) hasn’t convened in two years, leaving its leadership in disarray and its future uncertain.
He warned that the mismanagement of the PDP has turned it into a liability rather than an asset to Nigeria’s democratic future. “What we’re seeing is not leadership but a continuous erosion of democratic values,” he said.
Despite the rejection by PDP governors, the coalition said it remains committed to its mission and will soon unveil its structure and agenda for Nigeria’s political rebirth.
“We extend our hand of fellowship to all well-meaning political actors. Rescuing Nigeria’s democracy goes beyond partisan loyalty—it’s a national imperative,” the statement concluded.
Vanguard reports that key figures in the coalition include former Anambra State governor and Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi; ex-Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai; former SGF Babachir Lawal; former APC national chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu; ex-Rivers governor Rotimi Amaechi; and former Ekiti governor Dr. Kayode Fayemi.
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