PDP Is Not In Crisis – Party Chieftains Optimistic About Tribunal’s Verdict

Some chieftains of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have asserted that the party is not in crisis.

The claim comes despite the number of crisis that has rocked the party before, during, and after the 2023 general election.

The PDP has faced three major issues that have continued to plague the party into crisis, and they are challenges of zoning, ethnicity, and the problem of national chairmanship.

However, most party chieftains disagree with this stand, Naija News gathered.

There are strong indications that several party members are now merely waiting for the outcome of the ongoing Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to see if the result will favour the presidential candidate of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Anything short of that, many of the party’s stakeholders may either relapse politically or start defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and possibly other parties.

Speaking to The Guardian, a chieftain of PDP in Lagos, Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse, said the PDP is not in a perpetual crisis.

He says, “When a party is not in power, you are definitely destabilised. I will agree that from the national headquarters, the party is not working hard enough as an opposition party, and the bulk of the problems are with the National Publicity Secretary. PDP is not in crisis. I was invited to the meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) about two weeks ago, where we ironed out all our problems and came to the conclusion that the party messed up in the last election.

“Atiku got the presidential ticket for 2023 election, but the former vice president never really funded the party. Since 2015, the former vice president didn’t fund the party, and that gave room for people like Wike to step in and start playing leadership role because of their financial capacity.

“Our challenges started from 2015 when former President Goodluck Jonathan lost the election to erstwhile President Muhammadu Buhari of APC. Once Jonathan lost the election, he disappeared and went to his village. He left the leadership of Wadata Plaza open, and that was what gave room for Wike to move in.

“In 2019, when Atiku got the ticket, he didn’t do anything to fund the party. He didn’t set up proper structures. He was only getting the party’s ticket based on personal recognition and the figures in election. But when Peter Obi of the LP and Tinubu contested with Atiku, it was difficult for him.”

Pearse, however, admitted that the PDP might be in crisis in some states, like in Imo State, but that it isn’t a general issue. He advanced further that “The party is just weak in Lagos, but we are settling down now. Things are not as bad as it used to be, and do not forget that, in all, PDP still has 13 governors. The issue is that Tinubu is a very smart person, and he has been doing so much such that it would be difficult to take the presidency away from him. What the PDP can do is to go extra miles, and this depends on the National Publicity Secretary.

“Recently, the governors on PDP platform came together to begin the meeting of PDP’s Governors Forum. The party is coming together. The challenge is that Tinubu is moving too fast, and that’s why it looks as if PDP is doing nothing.”

Corroborating Pearse’s stand was the governorship candidate of Lagos PDP in 2015 and 2019, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, who noted that it is not new that the ruling party will do everything possible to suppress opposition parties.

Agbaje said it is too early to start saying PDP is in a perpetual crisis because “The outcome of the election petition tribunal may change the dynamics.” 

Similarly, the National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, also claimed that the party is not in a severe crisis as the ruling party and some elements are painting it.

Ologunagba was optimistic about the outcome of the tribunal saying the PDP has an excellent case at the tribunal and that Atiku is still very hopeful of regaining the mandate.

He noted that it is always part of politics that any party in power would want to break the ranks of the opposition, but PDP is not unmindful of this.

“The onus is on us to stand up to the challenge, and we are already putting every measure in place to ensure genuine reconciliation, especially considering the aftermath of the last general elections,” he added.