Reconciliation with the faction supported by Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike is necessary to maintain the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the opposition in the upcoming general election, according to Ini Ememobong, the party’s factional National Publicity Secretary.
One of the main obstacles to the reconciliation, according to reports, is that the Wike-backed faction wants President Bola Tinubu to serve a second term outright, while the camp of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, led by Kabiru Turaki, has promised to field a strong candidate for the presidency in 2027.
The Wike faction had insisted that the PDP would not run a presidential candidate in the upcoming election, and there are rumors that they would insist on Tinubu’s endorsement from Turaki’s camp in exchange for peace.
In an interview with Arise News’ The Morning Show, Ememobong did, however, express optimism that a compromise would be reached, even though the faction might not support Tinubu.
He stated that the PDP would offer candidates to participate in the 2027 election at all levels.
Ememobong stated, “The truth is that both hope and delusion are human emotions, and at the end of the day, it is the result that determines which was hope and which was delusion,” in response to the statement that reconciliation may appear delusional at this stage given the circumstances.
Thus, I can guarantee you that we might not support the President. As you can see, when you are a leader, you are listening to the people you are in charge of. We are delegators of authority, and we are listening to the delegators who gave us the authority to take action.
The representatives of authority have now stated, “Look, can we at least go to the table? You bring your reducible minimums to the table with the parties. One of the conditions of the deal we will make is that we will field candidates at every stage if there is to be peace.
Regarding presidential candidates, we will offer a strong contender. We are open to reconciliation at the negotiating table, but that reconciliation must maintain our status as an opposition party.
