2027: Opposition can’t unseat Tinubu without merger, says PDP chair

The acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Umar Damagum, asserted on Tuesday that PDP remains the strongest opposition party in the country, adding that any merger without the PDP would not unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

Damagum, who spoke in an interview with BBC Hausa Service on Tuesday, was reacting to comments on Monday by the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, who ruled out an alliance with the PDP and the Labour Party in 2027.

Speaking on Tuesday, Damagum said there would have been no Kwankwaso without the PDP as he had his political grooming in the PDP before he departed.

The PDP chairman dismissed Kwankwaso’s assertion that the PDP was dead, stating that the party remains the only opposition party still winning governorship elections across the country

Damagum said, “People are entitled to their opinions, but I want to remind him (Kwankwaso) of the past. When they left the PDP in 2015, if the party didn’t die back then, during a time they thought they had weakened it, I don’t see why anyone would claim it is dead now.

“Let’s not forget that the PDP remains the only party capable of winning elections if you exclude the ruling APC.