There be new signs say some big shots and leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) don decide to ignore former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and instead support Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, for the 2027 presidential election. This information come from sources that talk to The PUNCH.
This secret move happen just one week after PDP governors settle the peace between different factions of the party. Despite the call to keep things as they are, some members of the PDP National Working Committee who loyal to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, have started pushing for Makinde to be the candidate.
The reason, according to multiple sources, be to stop Atiku from getting the ticket again. They say Atiku has become a ‘serial contestant’ and has not shown enough seriousness and sincerity about winning the presidency. One source explain say, “Now, it is one of those same men you cried about that is giving you a problem. He could have waited till after the election and deceived Wike as (former President Olusegun) Obasanjo did during his time.”
Some NWC members also feel Atiku has been using the PDP to experiment every four years and has not shown enough zeal to win. They fear he may no longer be a sellable candidate in 2027 because of his age, so they prefer a younger and more vibrant candidate like Makinde.
“The same (Iyorchia) Ayu he was protecting told us during the campaign that both Atiku and Tinubu are his friends. But you were there playing politics like a greenhorn…. Just because of Ayu, you sacrificed five governors. There was no way those five governors would not have changed the story for us. We lost the presidential election by less or a little over one million votes,” an NWC member said.
They believe Makinde, being a Christian and a Southerner, has shown capacity and can connect with both the young and old. They are now looking for a powerful northern candidate to pair with him.
Makinde himself has said he is qualified to contest and will push for the 2027 presidential election agenda when the time is right. He warned Nigerians against allowing the country to become a one-party state.
