Deputy National Spokesman Ibrahim Abdullahi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has confirmed that merger talks are ongoing between the three opposition candidates in the last election – PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s Peter Obi, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).... CLICK TO READ THE FULL NEWS HERE▶▶
Abdullahi made this known in an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program on Monday.
According to him, the three men would put aside their interests to form a formidable force to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) come 2027.
He said that despite the fracas that engulfed the party in the run-up to the 2023 presidential elections, the PDP would have emerged victorious.
High-ranking chieftains like former Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike, Kwankwaso, and Obi left the party to form alliances with other parties before the polls.
He said, “We’ve lost Kwankwaso, we’ve lost Peter Obi, all of these people. Imagine if they were in the party, we would have won the elections.
“This APC said they defeated us with one million plus (votes). Just one of these names that I mentioned would have covered that gap for us, and we would have been in power today. Certainly, Nigerians would not have been confronted with this despair and despondency in the land.”
Asked if the PDP is trying to get Obi, Kwankwaso, Wike, and others back into the party, Abdullahi said, “Sure, discussions are ongoing. You will see Peter Obi discussing with Atiku, you will see Peter Obi meeting with (Nasir) El-Rufai. Party management is a very difficult thing, and we are doing our best in the quagmire that we have found ourselves in. Rest assured, there will be light at the end of the tunnel. We have bitterly learned our lessons.”
President Bola Tinubu won the presidential elections with 8,794,726 votes, almost two million votes more than his closest rival – Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.
Atiku, who has run for president six times, got 6,984,520 votes, while Obi, a first-time contestant, secured an unprecedented 6,101,533. Kwankwaso, former Kano State governor, finished fourth, claiming victory in his state – Kano. He secured 1,496,687 votes.
Interestingly, Obi and Kwankwaso were PDP members months before the last poll but cited irreconcilable differences as reasons they exited the party.
