Wike-backed PDP disowns planned convention to affirm Jonathan as 2027 presidential candidate
The faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) backed by Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has dissociated itself from a planned convention purportedly organised to affirm former President Goodluck Jonathan as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
This follows a convention being planned for Saturday, May 30 in Abuja by the Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the PDP to affirm Jonathan’s candidacy.
In a statement issued on Friday, Jungudo Mohammed, national publicity secretary of the PDP faction, described the planned exercise as unauthorised and misleading.
Mohammed said the party had not scheduled, approved or endorsed any convention, meeting or process for the affirmation of Jonathan’s candidacy.
He urged party members, supporters and the public to disregard reports about the planned event, saying they were intended to create confusion within the polity.
According to him, the former president should also publicly distance himself from the planned exercise to protect the integrity of the democratic process and preserve the credibility he earned while serving the country.
“The party urges former President Goodluck Jonathan to publicly dissociate himself from this charade in order to protect the integrity of the democratic process and preserve the credibility he earned while serving the nation,” the statement reads.
Mohammed further called on security agencies to investigate the source of the reports and take appropriate action against those behind them.
According to him, all primary elections, including governorship, state assembly, national assembly and presidential primaries, had already been concluded in line with the Electoral Act, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) guidelines and the party’s constitution.
Meanwhile, the Turaki-led faction of the PDP has alleged intimidation ahead of the planned convention.
In a statement signed by Ini Ememobong, the faction’s national publicity secretary, the group accused the FCT minister of threatening to shut down the venue for the event.
The faction claimed that the management of A Class Event Centre in Wuse 2, Abuja, the venue of the event, informed it of alleged threats from the FCT minister over the planned gathering.
According to the statement, the venue had been fully paid for, and security agencies had already been notified about the convention.
The group said its lawyers had been directed to remind the management of the event centre of the contractual agreement reached with the organisers.
Despite the alleged intimidation, the faction insisted that the convention would proceed as scheduled on Saturday, May 30, at the A Class Event Centre in Abuja.
The group also criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration, alleging that actions by some government officials were beginning to portray authoritarian tendencies.
It added that the FCT minister had no legal authority to determine which political events should hold or where they should take place.
