Drop Your Serial Failed Presidential Bid, Support Southern Candidate, PDP Group Urges Atiku over 2027

A group within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), known as PDP 100 Percent, has appealed to the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, to abandon his ambition to become Nigeria’s president and instead support a southern candidate for the 2027 election.

The group’s national coordinator, Dennis Shima, made the plea in a press conference in Abuja, citing the recent mass exodus of party members to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as a reason for Atiku to reconsider his plans.

Shima blamed Atiku for the crisis currently facing the PDP, alleging that he laid the foundation for the party’s woes by orchestrating the defeat of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.

Shima argued that it is imperative for the PDP to support a southern presidential candidate in 2027, given the region’s credible and young presidential materials.

He named Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State as a potential candidate, despite his role in the defunct G5 group that opposed Atiku’s candidacy in 2023.

Shima justified Makinde’s membership in G5, stating that it was based on equity, fairness, and justice, and that the governor’s actions were aimed at promoting southern interests.

Shima criticized Atiku for returning to the PDP in 2017 after orchestrating the party’s defeat in 2015. He alleged that Atiku’s return was motivated by his failed hopes in the APC-led federal government under President Buhari.

Shima also accused Atiku of benefiting from the PDP’s constitutional amendment in 2017, which allowed returnees like him to have equal rights as party members.

The group recalled the PDP’s history of crisis, including the 2013 breakaway of seven governors, led by Atiku, which formed a faction and named new national officers. The group argued that the PDP’s current crisis is a result of the party’s failure to address its internal issues and the dominance of northern politicians.

Shima urged PDP stakeholders to support a dependable national chairman from the north and a southern presidential candidate in 2027. He warned that the party’s failure to address its internal issues could lead to a repeat of the 2023 scenario, where the north dominated the party’s leadership positions. The group called for democracy and equity within the PDP, arguing that it is time for the party to prioritize the interests of all its members, regardless of region or ethnicity.