The Peoples Democratic Party has unveiled plans to engage former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi and ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar as part of a comprehensive strategy to rebuild Nigeria’s main opposition platform ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Emmanuel Ogidi, Chairman of the PDP South-South zone, disclosed the party’s reconciliation agenda on Wednesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, signaling a deliberate effort to reunite key political figures who previously operated under the party’s banner.
“So we’re doing the rounds. We have already seen a former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, and a former President, IBB. So, it’s all about seeing those who are important in Nigeria to tell them that we are alive and we’re moving. I know you’re going to ask me about Obi. Yes, we also have plans to see Peter Obi,” Ogidi stated during the breakfast programme.
The PDP chieftain further confirmed that Atiku would equally be consulted as part of the outreach initiative, describing the former vice president as an important stakeholder whose experience remains valuable to Nigerian democracy.
“Even Atiku Abubakar, as the former vice president of the country, we are going to meet him. You see, PDP is the real face of democracy in Nigeria,” Ogidi declared, underscoring the party’s commitment to broad-based consultations with influential political actors across the country.
Both Obi and Atiku have deep historical ties to the PDP. Obi served as the party’s vice presidential candidate alongside Atiku during the 2019 general elections, while Atiku himself carried the PDP’s presidential flag in the 2023 polls after securing the party’s ticket at a contentious primary election in Abuja.
However, both politicians have since parted ways with the PDP. Following the 2023 elections, which saw the All Progressives Congress retain power at the federal level, Atiku and Obi joined the African Democratic Congress, a development that significantly altered Nigeria’s opposition landscape and raised questions about the PDP’s capacity to remain the country’s leading opposition force.
The proposed engagement with Obi and Atiku represents a significant pivot in the PDP’s rebuilding strategy, particularly given the acrimonious circumstances surrounding the 2023 presidential election and its aftermath. The election campaign was marked by bitter divisions within the opposition, with Obi’s surprise emergence as a formidable third force fragmenting traditional voting blocs and contributing to what many analysts described as a split opposition vote that aided the APC’s victory.
Ogidi’s announcement comes just one day after members of the PDP National Working Committee paid a consultative visit to former President Goodluck Jonathan at his Maitama office in Abuja. The delegation, led by National Chairman Tanimu Turaki and other party chieftains, sought to secure Jonathan’s continued loyalty and support as the party prepares for upcoming off-season elections in Ekiti and Osun states, as well as the 2027 general elections.
Following the meeting, Turaki told journalists that Jonathan had reaffirmed his commitment to the party that brought him to power. “We have his assurance that he remains an active, card-carrying member of the PDP and feels obliged to support the party; the PDP has done enough for him, and he will try his best to do more for the party,” Turaki said.
The National Chairman described Jonathan’s remarks as “very reassuring and encouraging” at a critical moment when the party desperately needs cohesion and strategic direction to mount a credible challenge against the ruling APC.
Jonathan served as Nigeria’s president from 2010 to 2015 under the PDP banner, presiding over a period characterized by both significant economic growth and mounting security challenges, particularly the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast. His administration was also marked by the controversial 2012 fuel subsidy protests and widespread perceptions of corruption, factors that ultimately contributed to the PDP’s historic defeat in the 2015 elections—the first time an incumbent president would lose power through the ballot box in Nigeria’s political history.
Since leaving office, Jonathan has maintained a relatively low political profile, focusing on continental peace-building initiatives and mediation efforts across Africa. His reaffirmation of support for the PDP therefore carries symbolic weight as the party seeks to project stability and unity ahead of the next electoral cycle.
The PDP’s outreach to former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida, as confirmed by Ogidi, further demonstrates the party’s determination to leverage the influence and political capital of elder statesmen who shaped Nigeria’s democratic trajectory. Obasanjo served two terms as Nigeria’s president from 1999 to 2007 under the PDP, establishing the party’s dominance during the Fourth Republic’s formative years, while Babangida ruled as military head of state from 1985 to 1993 and remains an influential voice in northern Nigerian politics.
However, the PDP’s reconciliation efforts unfold against a backdrop of profound internal crisis that has threatened to tear the party apart. Following the party’s national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, the PDP took the controversial decision to expel prominent members including Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike and former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, both of whom wielded considerable influence within the party’s structures.
The expulsions have since triggered a leadership dispute, with two factions now laying claim to control of the party at the national level. This internal fracture has raised serious questions about the PDP’s organizational coherence and its capacity to present a united front against the APC in 2027.
Wike’s expulsion proved particularly contentious given his instrumental role in financing party activities and his control over strategic political structures in Rivers State, one of Nigeria’s wealthiest states due to oil revenues. His subsequent appointment as FCT Minister by President Bola Tinubu despite remaining a nominal PDP member at the time was widely interpreted as a calculated move by the APC to further destabilize the opposition.
Ogidi himself addressed this dynamic in a separate interview on Wednesday, asserting that “APC empowered Wike against PDP, but he’ll turn on them,” suggesting the party believes Wike’s alliance with the ruling party may prove temporary or strategically problematic for the APC in the long term.
The PDP’s current predicament represents a dramatic reversal of fortunes for a party that dominated Nigerian politics for 16 uninterrupted years from 1999 to 2015. During that period, the party controlled the presidency, maintained majorities in both chambers of the National Assembly, and governed the majority of Nigeria’s 36 states. Its institutional strength was such that party leaders famously boasted the PDP would rule Nigeria for “60 years,” a prediction that proved spectacularly premature when Muhammadu Buhari’s APC defeated Jonathan in 2015.
The 2015 defeat exposed deep structural weaknesses within the PDP, including endemic factionalism, poor internal democracy, and an over-reliance on federal patronage to maintain party cohesion. These fault lines have only widened since losing federal power, with various factions engaging in protracted battles over party structures, ticket allocation, and strategic direction.
The 2023 elections further compounded the PDP’s difficulties. Despite fielding Atiku as its presidential candidate for a sixth time, the party’s campaign was undermined by a damaging internal rebellion led by five governors—known as the G-5—who opposed Atiku’s candidacy and demanded the resignation of then-National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu as a condition for supporting the campaign. Wike, as Rivers State Governor, was the most prominent member of this group.
The G-5’s rebellion, combined with Obi’s unexpected emergence as a major contender under the Labour Party banner, fragmented the opposition vote and enabled Tinubu to secure victory despite winning just 36% of total votes cast—the lowest winning percentage in Nigeria’s electoral history.
