Efforts by former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to woo members of the opposition parties into the Social Democratic Party (SDP) is causing a furore in Nigeria’s political space.
Daily Query can report that more incensed by the call are some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Executive Committee (NEC) who outrightly rejected the bait by Nasir El-Rufai.
The PDP chieftains, who spoke in separate interviews, said the major opposition party is better suited as a vehicle for the opposition in the quest to sack the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.
PDP Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, said while the call for opposition leaders to unite, ahead of the 2027 general elections, is a welcome development, the SDP does not have the required structure to serve as the vehicle.
He wondered about the structure of SDP in the country, saying that should be the first question.
“That he has defected to a mushroom political party is not the reason why the PDP should be rubbished.
“Yes, the call for opposition leaders to merge is a welcome call, because if there is no merger among the national opposition leaders, it will make the work easier for Tinubu’s return. But it is not the SDP that is the vehicle”, he said.
Arguing that opposition leaders should sit down with the PDP to discuss how to drive the coalition under the major opposition party, Osadalor said: “The opposition leaders should meet and work out how best to work with the PDP. As we speak, in the 774 local government areas in the country, the PDP is the only major opposition party that has the structure across the country.
“You cannot have any opposition in this country to a Tinubu Presidency, without factoring the role of the PDP. Yes, the PDP cannot do it alone, but it is not the SDP that will do it.
“We need everybody to come to the table. All the opposition leaders to sit down with the PDP to discuss how to go about it. But to say that the SDP should be vanguard for the majority will not be a reality.”
In a similar vein, a member of the PDP NEC, Diran Odeyemi, said while El-Rufai’s call for the opposition leaders to unite is a good idea, they should rather come together under the PDP.
“I believe in his ( El-Rufai’s) postulation that all opposition party leaders should come together, if they actually want to win in 2027,” Odeyemi argued.
“But PDP is not a small political party. It is a big party. I would have preferred all of them to come and join the PDP so that they can rescue Nigeria from the APC.
” PDP is known. It is always difficult to introduce a new political party to Nigerians. It is always better to go for a bigger one. PDP appears bigger than any other political party. They should all come together under the umbrella of the PDP.”
Also, a member of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), who declined to be mentioned, said the party because of its spread is better suited as the vehicle for any coalition for the 2027 polls.
“We are not interested in El-Rufai’s call. We have more important things we are grappling with at the moment,” he chided.
