A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki has rejected calls for opposition members to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, accusing the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, of undermining the opposition.
The faction said the call attributed to Wike, urging PDP candidates to collapse their political structures in support of Tinubu, was not directed at genuine members of the party but at individuals allegedly working in the interest of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, the faction’s National Publicity Secretary of the Interim National Working Committee, Comrade Ini Ememobong, described the reported position as unsurprising.
According to the statement, committed PDP members would not support the APC-led Federal Government or endorse its policies at the expense of the opposition’s responsibility to provide Nigerians with an alternative.
The faction maintained that the primary responsibility of opposition parties was to challenge the ruling government and offer Nigerians alternative policies and leadership, rather than support the incumbent administration.
It also opposed any proposed alliance between opposition parties and the ruling APC, arguing that any meaningful political coalition should involve opposition groups seeking to challenge the government.
The statement described the idea of a so-called “rainbow coalition” involving opposition figures and the governing party as a threat to electoral democracy, warning that such an arrangement could weaken political competition and undermine democratic accountability.
The Turaki-led faction further urged what it described as genuine and loyal PDP members to remain committed to the party while awaiting the outcome of its legal battle over the party’s leadership.
Ememobong disclosed that the faction’s case had been heard by the Court of Appeal and that the party was awaiting judgment.
The faction expressed confidence that the judiciary would deliver justice, insisting that the court’s decision was crucial to resolving the lingering leadership dispute and determining the party’s rightful leadership.
