Preparatory to the 2027 presidential race in Nigeria, reports indicate that several bigshots and stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party may have resolved to shun former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde.
The move comes barely a week after governors elected under the umbrella of the PDP brokered peace between warring factions of the party.
Despite the call to return to status quo, members of the PDP National Working Committee loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, have commenced pushing for the candidacy of Makinde, ahead of the 2027 presidential poll.
Sources say the idea is to frustrate the ambition of Atiku and stop the party from conceding the ticket to the former VP, who they decried has become a ‘serial contestant.’
These sources revealed that some leaders of the opposition party were yet to forgive the former PDP presidential candidate for smearing their biggest chance to return to power in 2023, following his refusal to appease the aggrieved five governors demanding the resignation of the immediate-past national chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu.
Recall that build up to the 2023 general elections, Wike and Makinde, alongside Samuel Ortom, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Okezie Ikpeazu, former governors of Benue, Enugu and Abia states respectively, had worked against Atiku’s chances to clinch the presidency.
A source lamented further; “Every election cycle, you will be given a presidential ticket; you will bungle it. Look at the mess that he caused for us at the 2023 election. What was difficult in going to kneel before the aggrieved five governors (G-5) and winning the election for us?
“Now, it is one of those same men you cried about that is giving you a problem. He could have waited till after the election and deceived Wike as (former President Olusegun) Obasanjo did during his time. Atiku was not serious and sincere about winning that presidency” .
A few members of the NWC, who did not want to be mentioned, also felt Atiku was always seeking to experiment with the PDP and had not shown enough zeal to win it, following the manner he handled his differences with the camp of Wike and the other four governors during the intrigue of Ayu-must-go campaign.
They also expressed worries that he may no longer be a marketable candidate in 2027 because of his age, hence the need for a younger and more vibrant candidate like Makinde.
“The same (Iyorchia) Ayu he was protecting told us during the campaign that both Atiku and Tinubu are his friends. But you were there playing politics like a greenhorn.
“Just because of Ayu, you sacrificed five governors. There was no way those five governors would not have changed the story for us. We lost the presidential election by less or a little over one million votes.
“That is why we are seeking a way out. Nobody can just be coming and using the PDP to experiment every four years. For now, we are supporting Seyi Makinde. Let this aspiration go to the South West this time. Makinde has shown capacity. He is a Christian and a Southerner.
“Let us try the other side of the country for a change. Seyi is young and vibrant. He can connect with both the young and old. We only need to get a powerful northern candidate for him, and he is good to go,” an NWC member revealed.
When inquired on how the narrative moved from talks about the chances of Atiku working together with Peter Obi, who many thought would defect from the Labour Party in the wake of the leadership crisis rocking his party, the PDP chieftain said the former LP candidate was not willing to take the bait.
He said, “On Obi, I can tell you he has not made up his mind to come to the PDP. If he decides today, the equation may change. For now, he is still with the Labour Party.”
Meanwhile, Governor Seyi Makinde has openly declared that he is qualified to run and would push for the 2027 presidential election agenda when the time is right.
Addressing newsmen during a visit to Fashola farm in Oyo town on Friday, Makinde stated that speculations about his political future were unnecessary and unsolicited.
The governor stated that “he is old enough to speak for himself on any issue without fear or intimidation,” stressing that he would do so publicly if he had anything to say about his political future.
The governor also cautioned Nigerians against allowing the country to slide into a one-party state.
Efforts to get the reaction of the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba and the deputy spokesman, Abdullahi Ibrahim, were futile.
When contacted, Atiku’s Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, could not comment on the development.
But the former VP’s Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, stated that they were not under any form of pressure over the choice of Makinde as was being speculated.
He said, people should focus on how Nigerians would overcome the current hardship in the land, rather than talk about who should be given the presidential ticket for 2027.
“Who is threatened? We are talking about how Nigerians will survive the economic problems they are facing, some people about 2027. Is it not too early? We are concerned about the welfare of Nigerians. We are not bothered about their machinations.
“It is only a man who doesn’t have the interest of Nigerians at heart that will be talking about 2027, especially when people are dying every day. We are not ready for that drama.” He added,
