A member of the reconciliation committee for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Eddy Olafeso, has stressed the importance of engaging with the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in 2023, Peter Obi, as well as leaders from other opposition parties, to form a coalition aimed at overcoming the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the upcoming 2027 elections.
Obi, who initially sought the PDP nomination, transitioned to the Labour Party prior to the 2022 primaries, where he secured 6,101,533 votes, finishing third behind the winner, Tinubu, who received 8,794,726 votes, and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, who garnered 6,984,520 votes.
During an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today program on Wednesday, Olafeso was asked whether the troubled PDP should reach out to Obi to enhance their chances against the APC in 2027.
He responded by stating that it is essential to engage not only with Peter Obi but also with any influential individuals in the country who could potentially contribute votes.
The PDP leader reiterated the necessity of forming a robust alliance to challenge the APC in 2027, highlighting the significant challenges a single political party would face in attempting to unseat the ruling party.
“It is not only here that you have alliances; you have people working together to be able to win an election.
“It happened in Ghana not quite a long time ago and that is exactly what we all should do at this moment, no single party can defeat APC alone, don’t let us delude ourselves. We must all come together to fight,” Olafeso added.
He attributed the fragmentation of the party to the PDP leadership before the 2023 election, a development which played a role in its defeat at the polls.
Olafeso pointed out that if the votes of Atiku and Obi had been combined, it would have placed Tinubu in a distant second, lamenting the PDP leadership’s failure to unify the party before the 2023 election.
News360 Info reports that The turmoil within the PDP persists, as Atiku and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike have yet to mend their relationship following their fallout after the party’s primary in 2022.
Nevertheless, Olafeso maintained that the divide between the two leaders was not beyond repair, expressing optimism that the party would navigate through this challenge and unite everyone once again.
