2027: Turaki-Led PDP Faction Rules Out Supporting Tinubu’s Re-election

The Taminu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has ruled out supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, insisting that the opposition party’s responsibility is to provide an alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The faction also dismissed calls credited to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, urging PDP candidates to collapse their political structures and support Tinubu’s re-election.

In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary of the Interim National Working Committee, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the faction said the call by Wike was not directed at genuine PDP members but at individuals it accused of pretending to belong to the opposition while working for the ruling party.

“The news credited to Minister Nyesom Wike that PDP 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 statement said.

It added that the message was intended for “persons who, like him, are pretenders in the opposition but are working for the governing party.”

The faction maintained that genuine PDP members would not support the APC-led federal government or its policies, describing such support as contrary to the responsibilities of an opposition party.

“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 stated.

According to the faction, the primary responsibility of an opposition party is to present an alternative to the incumbent government rather than support its political interests.

“The paramount duty of the opposition is to provide an alternative to the incumbent, not to massage their ego,” the statement added.

It further argued that any political alliance involving opposition parties should be formed among themselves rather than with the party in government.

“If at all opposition parties are to have an alliance, it will be amongst themselves, not with the governing party,” it said.

The Turaki-led faction also criticised what it described as a “rainbow coalition” involving opposition figures and the ruling party, warning that such an arrangement posed a threat to electoral democracy.

“This political anomaly, styled and championed as a ‘rainbow coalition,’ is the greatest threat to electoral democracy and the fastest way of railroading the country into an electoral monarchy,” the statement said.

On the lingering leadership crisis within the PDP, the faction urged its members to remain committed to the party while awaiting the outcome of its legal challenge at the Court of Appeal.

It disclosed that the case had been heard and that the faction was awaiting judgment, expressing hope that the court would resolve the dispute in its favour.

“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,” the statement said.

“Our case at the Court of Appeal has been heard, and we await judgment. We know that the entire judiciary is conscious that justice delayed is justice denied.”

The faction also warned Nigerians against what it described as elite accommodation and state capture disguised as broad-based political collaboration.

It said the 2027 general election would provide an opportunity for voters to decide the future of the country’s political leadership.

“Nigerians should be wary of elite accommodation and state capture masquerading as broad-based political collaboration,” the statement added.

“The election next year provides a great opportunity to vote out these insensitive and irresponsible political actors.”