The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it will unveil its presidential campaign council ahead of the January 16, 2027 election.
This was just as the party insisted that it remains committed to contesting the poll despite the decision of its national leader, Nyesom Wike, to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The party said preparations were underway to inaugurate its Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), dismissing suggestions that Wike’s alliance with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) meant the PDP had abandoned its presidential ambition.
Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, disclosed this on Monday while responding to inquiries about the party’s position ahead of the election.
Mohammed said the party was compiling the names of members of its campaign council ahead of its inauguration and the commencement of its presidential campaign.
He argued that Wike’s decision to support Tinubu should not be interpreted as the position of the entire party.
“Wike is an appointee of the President Tinubu and he is merely doing his job as an appointee by supporting his boss,” he said.
Wike, who is also the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was recently named a campaign coordinator for Rivers State and the FCT in Tinubu’s revised Presidential Campaign Council.
His inclusion in the council formalised his support for Tinubu’s re-election, which he had justified by arguing that the PDP was not in a strong position to win the presidential election.
The development had raised questions about the PDP’s participation in the 2027 presidential race, given Wike’s influence within the party and his open support for the president.
However, Mohammed maintained that the party had not withdrawn from the contest and was preparing to mobilise support for its presidential candidate, Senator Sandy Ojang Onor.
In a separate development, the Wike-backed PDP faction has criticised Tinubu and the APC for blaming the opposition for Nigeria’s economic hardship.
The faction said the president’s remarks at the APC presidential campaign flag-off at Kaduna Township Stadium on Saturday amounted to an attempt to shift responsibility for the country’s economic difficulties.
Tinubu had said his administration was working to end hardship caused by the opposition.
Reacting, Mohammed said the APC-led Federal Government should take responsibility for the economic challenges confronting Nigerians rather than blame previous administrations.
In a statement, the faction described Tinubu’s remarks as “attempts to evade responsibility and divert public attention from the pressing challenges facing the country under the APC-led administration.”
The party urged the government to focus on practical measures to ease the burden on citizens instead of engaging in political arguments.
It demanded that the administration explain how it intended to make food affordable, support farmers, increase local food production, create jobs, improve security, tackle corruption, expand electricity supply, reduce transport costs and restore Nigerians’ purchasing power.
“We firmly reject any attempt to use the PDP’s sixteen years in government as a blanket justification for the shortcomings of the present administration,” the statement said.
“After APC’s more than 10 years in office, Nigerians deserve answers, not excuses,” it added.
The faction acknowledged that the country’s past could help explain some of its present difficulties but insisted that previous administrations should not serve as a permanent excuse for the government’s performance.