The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has confirmed that former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan remains one of the potential contenders for its 2027 presidential ticket, the party said on Monday, September 29.
Speaking in Abuja, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Debo Ologunagba, who also serves as secretary of the party’s National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) Publicity Sub-Committee, said it is too late for allies of the All Progressives Congress (APC) within or outside the PDP to halt its convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Ologunagba explained that the deadline for submission of nomination forms was extended to allow further consultations for states to finalise positions on micro-zoning.
He added: “I don’t speak for Prof Jerry Gana or former President Jonathan but our party has many worthy personalities and we shall cross the bridge when we reach there.”
Responding to reports that a faction allegedly backed by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike had conducted a state congress in Cross River and re-elected former PDP National Publicity Secretary, Venatius Ikem, as chairman, Ologunagba dismissed the claims as “mere hallucination.”
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He clarified that the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), led by Umar Damagum, had postponed state congresses and appointed the South-South Zonal Caretaker Committee, led by Chief Emmanuel Ogidi, to oversee affairs in Cross River until proper elections could be conducted.
Ologunagba said: “Emphatically, there was no PDP state congress in Cross River State; we are getting into the season of carnival in Calabar and those people only went there to do their carnival.
“This party has its due process, and for those who think they can gather people to have drinks and call it a party congress, that’s mere hallucination.”
He also addressed conflicting letters sent to INEC, insisting that the Damagum-led NWC is the sole authority for the party, stating: “There are people in our fold who are working with APC; we know that but we are united as a political party and we are strongly focused.”
Ologunagba concluded by highlighting the significance of the upcoming convention for Nigeria’s democracy, asserting: “That is why you see APC jittery and it is understandable because we have a history of 16 years’ record of prosperity that was unlike APC’s years of scarcity.”