As the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) worsens, a chieftain of the party, Segun Sowunmi, has warned Atiku Abubakar about his coalition campaign for the 2027 election.
In a bid to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu, the former Vice President, has been at the forefront of a campaign for opposition parties to form an alliance ahead of the 2027 election.
In his recent interaction with PDP youths, Atiku said the coalition, which he spearheads, would join any platform that guarantees good governance for the election.
However, Sowunmi, during an interview on Arise Television on Thursday, faulted Atiku’s move, warning him not to “empty a big party into some small organization.”
According to him, Atiku, who has used the PDP platform to become Vice President twice and contested for president twice, should use his clout to attract more people to the party rather than setting up a coalition that may further jeopardise the party’s chances in the coming election.
“You were given presidential ticket to PDP twice. You were made vice president of PDP twice. Come what may, whatever come back together, amalgamation or coalition that you’re doing, it has to be done in the PDP,” he advised.
Sowunmi, who claimed to be Atiku’s most loyal soldier, said most politicians seeking to join the coalition are not loyal to the former Vice President.
“I do not agree that you are going to empty a big party into some small organisation when I have gone round, and I know that most of the people that are saying they want to be in that coalition don’t even agree with you. They may be pretending, I know what they say behind because I’ve gone round. I am your most loyal soldier. You don’t have another that as well as me. Do not deceive yourself,” Sowunmi warned.
While questioning Atiku’s motive for spearheading a coalition, Sowunmi wondered why Atiku, the party’s greatest beneficiary, was making such a move.
“Shall a leader desert his house just because there’s a crisis there, especially one that has favored him one too many? He queried.
Earlier, the PDP chieftain urged Peter Obi to rejoin the PDP to wrest power from the APC in 2027.
He said Obi’s performance in the 2023 presidential election showed what the former Labour Party candidate is capable of doing, stressing that the PDP could see the numbers he would pull if he rejoined the party.
