2027: Wike-loyal PDP faction rules out partnership with APC

The Peoples Democratic Party, with the backing of Minister of Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike, is expressing confidence in its prospects for the 2027 general elections, affirming that it does not have an alliance with the ruling All Progressives Congress and is resolute in its aim to defeat the party at the polls.

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PDP National Publicity Secretary Jungudo Mohammed revealed this in an exclusive interview with a correspondent on Tuesday, describing as mischievous the insinuations of an alliance between the APC and PDP.

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According to Mohammed, the current situation within the APC and the defections the PDP is receiving provide no basis for such allegations, and he emphasized that the PDP has no alliance or romance with the APC, with its sole target being to defeat the APC in 2027.

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The party's ongoing screening and nomination exercise is progressing smoothly, with aspirants from various states already submitting their forms, and the screening of aspirants for the 2027 election is set to commence the following day.

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Screening for some aspirants will be conducted in their respective states, while the screening for governorship and presidential aspirants will be held at Legacy House on Thursday, with no screening exercise taking place at the secretariat.

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Aspirants are returning their forms, with the party having received a significant number of governorship aspirants, including three each from Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, and several other states, and the exercise has been smooth with no hitches.

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PDP stakeholders, under the aegis of the PDP Survival Movement, have insisted that no court judgment nullified the Abdulrahman Mohammed and Samuel Anyanwu-led National Working Committee, maintaining that the existing leadership structure of the party remains legally binding.

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Speaking through its President, Okoh Bartholomew, during a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the stakeholders questioned the legality of the Tanimu Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee and dismissed claims that the Supreme Court judgment affected the position of the party's national secretary, Anyanwu.

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Bartholomew revealed that court records and Certified True Copies of the judgments from the Federal High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court showed that the matter before the apex court only involved the PDP National Legal Adviser, Adeyemi Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), and not Anyanwu.

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The facts, according to Bartholomew, are straightforward, with Senator Samuel N. Anyanwu not being a party to the specific cross-appeal being referenced by those pushing the propaganda, and his name did not appear in the matter now being mischievously interpreted to mislead party members.

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Bartholomew challenged anyone to produce a Certified True Copy where Senator Samuel N. Anyanwu's name was specifically mentioned in the judgment, emphasizing that the law is settled and no court can make binding pronouncements against an individual who was not a party before it in the specific proceedings being determined.

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He added that assuming a suspension occurred, it is a matter of record that such an action was limited to 30 days only, and during this window, Anyanwu took no executive decisions that could have legally or administratively truncated the Abuja convention.

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No court declared the convention illegal, no court nullified the convention discussions, and no judicial order extinguished the authority of the subsisting NWC structure aligned with Senator Anyanwu, according to Bartholomew.

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The PDP Survival Movement clarified that the November 3, 2025, letter introducing Abdulrahman as acting national chairman was never acted upon by INEC, which was awaiting a Court of Appeal judgment at the time, and attempts to merge that letter with a separate December 7 correspondence were misleading.

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Bartholomew explained that the November 3 letter and the December 7 correspondence differed in timing, context, and legal effect, with the latter emerging under entirely different circumstances and eventually leading to the emergence of the Hon Abdulrahman-led caretaker committee.

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He emphasized that the November 3 letter named Abdulrahman acting national chairman, while the December 7 letter made him head of a caretaker committee after the 30-day suspension expired, and merging both letters was misleading and dishonest.

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Bartholomew raised concerns over what he described as contradictions within the group currently referring to itself as the Interim National Working Committee, saying the development raises questions about consistency and legitimacy.

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He questioned the legitimacy of the Interim National Working Committee, asking where exactly it was created within the PDP Constitution and under which constitutional provision it derives legitimacy.

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Bartholomew urged members to disregard misinformation, constitutional distortions, and politically driven propaganda, insisting that the Abdulrahman/Anyanwu-led NWC remains the only court-recognised leadership structure in the PDP.

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On April 30, the Supreme Court, in a narrow 3–2 decision, annulled the PDP national convention held in Ibadan on November 15 and 16, which was backed by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and produced the Turaki (SAN)-led leadership.

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The court ruled that the convention breached existing restraining orders that prohibited the party from proceeding until set conditions were met, faulting the PDP for going ahead despite clear judicial directives, and subsequently, the Makinde-aligned 103rd NEC of the PDP approved a 13-member caretaker committee headed by Turaki (SAN) as chairman.