Politics
PDP, threat to APC in 2027, says George
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) member, Chief Olabode George, has said the main opposition is a threat to the second-term ambition of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
He said, despite efforts to liquidate PDP, the platform will survive and reclaim power.
George, a former military governor of Ondo State, raised the alarm that the APC-led Federal Government is forcing PDP members to defect, saying that it is an affront on democracy.
He said, “Because APC is threatened with the way we conducted our convention in Ibadan, they are now using INEC to truncate that process. But, Nigerians know their undemocratic game plan. That is why voters who have suffered from the APC’s bad policies are waiting to re-elect PDP in 2027.”
The party elder spoke at the swearing-in of newly elected ward, local government and state officers who emerged at the recent congresses.
At the ceremony held at the party secretariat, in Ikeja, were former Ekiti State Acting Governor Sunday Odeyemi, Senator Kofo Akerele-Bucknor, Mrs Aduke Maina, governorship aspirant Funso Doherty and Dr Amos Fawole, the chairman of the chapter.
George said, “Our governors and lawmakers are being forced and threatened to defect, but we are not bothered because the PDP is the only true national party in the country today. APC is just a coalition of strange bedfellows.”
He said PDP has lived up to expectations as a democratic party, unlike the APC that has indulged in the culture of imposition.
George said PDP stands for what is just, fair and equitable, adding that the Saminu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) has vowed to sustain these values as it prepares for next year’s polls.
Although he did not tender any evidence, George alleged plans by the APC to rig the 2027 elections, vowing that the PDP would resist the move.
He added, “In this rigging plot, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should also be careful. In PDP, INEC cannot choose our leaders for us. Opposition parties will resist this irresponsible behaviour from the umpire.
“What INEC is doing is shameful. Some of the characters in INEC were not born in 1962 when the crisis in the defunct Western Region started, due to the manipulation of democratic processes by the powers that be then.
We all know what happened between then and 1966, which eventually led to the civil war between 1967 and 1970, when over two million Nigerians died. So, INEC should be very careful.”
George urged party members not to panic, assuring that “the challenge PDP is facing today is temporary.”
He added, “Nigerians are waiting for us in 2027. Remain in the party and work for its progress.
From the North to South, East to West, PDP remains a strong political platform, offering great opportunities for members and Nigerians.
“It is only in the PDP that the interest of Nigerians can be better served.
“There is no coalition in today’s Nigeria that can be stronger than the PDP.
Ours is a reborn political party that has weathered every storm and can never go under. Those defecting must return to this Iroko political party. PDP is coming back to take over its place as the ruling party in the country.
I want to assure Nigerians that come 2027, PDP will take Nigeria to its rightful place in the comity of nations”