The governors on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have denied the reports and rumours allegedly working behind the scenes to support a Nasir El-Rufai/Peter Obi presidential ticket in the 2027 election.
This is even as the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar denied the report of abandoning PDP, saying he remain a bonifide member of the party.
The PDP governors under the aegis of PDP Governors Forum, noted that the rumours of supporting politicians outside the PDP was an intention to split the opposition and thereby cripple democratic institutions and values through questionable adoptions and misinterpretation of the law.
PDP Governors Forum, in a statement by its Director General, Dr. Emmanuel Agbo, said that the plot by those behind the rumours was to strangle the lifeline of the nation to enforce dictatorship and one-party rule.
The Forum said: “It is obvious that these mischief makers and detractors, who are bewildered at the way and manner PDP Governors are daily performing to pull the people out of economic hardship despite the intimidation by the ruling APC, are only intimidated and can only throw mud at our good works.
“In the world of politics, rumors and speculations are common, as such, we will not allow these ‘Enemies of Progress’ and ‘Agents of Confusion’ to gaslight the Nigerian people to draw wrong and erroneous conclusions.
“Our principles are for equity, social justice, sincerity of purpose, accountability, enthronement of undefiled electoral process, enhancement of the lives of the people, and propagation of humanity.
“Suffice it for us to irrevocably state here that in 2027, PDP Governors as disciplined leaders and stakeholders will exemplify this by wholeheartedly supporting whoever emerges as the flag-bearer of our great party in the battle to wrestle power from the non-performers at the centre.”
Atiku, who denied abandoning the party, clarified that the so-called news of defecting to another party is a total fallacy that holds no merit in logic.
Atiku, in a statement by Media Office, reinstated his persistence call for a coalition of opposition political parties in Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general election with the aim of ousting the incompetent and pain-inflicting All Progressives Congress, in order to give Nigerians a new lease of life.
“Atiku is advocating a robust coalition that would accommodate all opposition parties – the PDP inclusive.
“Hence, it is fallacious and unfounded to allege that the Waziri is jumping PDP ship. Such an allegation is antithetical to the objective of the grand coalition, which the former Vice President is currently driving alongside other prominent political leaders in the country.
“We, therefore, wish to state unequivocally that Atiku remains a principal bonafide member of the PDP, the main opposition party.
“Any insinuation to the contrary is contrived to confuse Nigerians about the magnitude of the grand coalition that is at work to rescue Nigeria from the grip of the APC,” the statement said.
