People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) Fractional National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong asserted that the Faction is actively pursuing reconciliation talks within the party while stressing that it will remain a strong opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday, Ememobong, explained that the party is seeking a careful balance, reconciling rival factions without compromising its identity as a robust opposition capable of fielding viable candidates across all levels of government.
“Where we are today has been the result of weaponisation of politics at the extreme, to the extent where we are beginning to glide into a one-party state. And that is so because both the internal factors of the PDP and the external factors that have been there have contributed to taking us to where we are. So way forward for the PDP is that, what Arafatja did yesterday was to say, and if you read the message he sent out, was to say that the beauty of the party had agreed that reconciliation be pursued. And so in order to show Oumare Mafidei, which is Othmane’s good faith, to that process, there was a need to postpone the national caucus, in order to congregate the efforts of the party to make peace, that what will happen is that those organs of the party will not meet again. So they will leave room.”
He detailed that the postponement of the national caucus was a deliberate measure. “The underpinning principle of that resolution is the fact that we must have a party called a People’s Democratic Party operating as an opposition party, operating as an appendage of any other party. Number one. Number two, we must have a party that will be able to run through candidates in 2027 at all levels of contest. Those were the two fundamental underpinnings that grounded the decisions. Just on these two fundamental underpinnings, my term was to challenge the faction with the other faction and reconciliation.”
Ememobong acknowledged concerns over the influence of certain party members who serve in government positions. “You see, when you’ve come to a point where even they themselves have realised that they would not take the alley that has been given by the Parliament to get back to the express way of becoming a party, that would amount to a mutually assured destruction. Everyone is clear about that. It’s an incontrovertible fact. The issue is this, which is why we are beginning to de-escalate to allow, it’s just like the ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, where parties are still trying to see what can we pick before we get to the ceasefire and the negotiations.”
He stressed that internal party committees would carefully manage disagreements. “The principle that guides that discussion is the principle of the fact that you cannot bring a minority opinion when it comes to the majority. The majority of the members of this party understand the fact that we are an opposition and we are not an appendage of another party. By the time we get to elections and election fever comes, a lot of things will change. By the time the wind of election comes, you know, the backside of the hen will be exposed. Going forward is the fact that we must avert this virtually assured destruction.”
The PDP faction is also addressing ongoing court rulings. “The committee that has been set up from our end to reconcile is a holistic reconciliation. It’s holistic to reconcile to the fact that you can have a strong opposition party that is not just going to field anyhow candidates like Rufai suspected, but will field candidates capable of going to that election and winning. Candidates that will draw from the support, not from the anger that Nigerians have against the ruling party.”
He also addressed concerns over the presidential candidacy within the PDP. “We are going with an open mind for reconciliation. But that reconciliation must keep us as an opposition party. By the time the game starts, as the war statement goes, no plan of war survives the first bullet. But the idea is that if you fail to plan, you also will begin to lose. So we are going with an open mind for reconciliation. But that reconciliation must keep us as an opposition party.”
Ememobong warned that without proper reconciliation, the PDP risks internal disunity. “At the beginning, if you recall, I said that the judicialization of politics will lead to the politicisation of the judiciary. And this, immediately this happens, the stream of the judiciary will be contaminated by the flowing depths of politics. Now finally we are ended up sitting down to talk. There’s a very thin line between hope and delusion. We’re not crossing that line. The opposition part, the other fractional part, believes in a tri-second term for President Tinubu. And you are saying that you want a viable candidate. You might not get a viable candidate. That’s why, if you are reconciling, are all of you not going to endorse President Tinubu for a second term? That’s why I say there’s a thin line between hope and delusion. It’s as if you guys are crossing that line between hope and delusion, as we speak. Truth is that both hope and delusion are human emotions. At the end of the day it’s the result that determines which was hope and which was delusion.”
He concluded by asserting that the PDP’s reconciliation efforts are designed to build a strong opposition. “One of the irreducible minimums that I’ve been talking about, the complete agreement is that, look, we have found ourselves here by both external and internal factors. Going forward, if there must be peace, one of the terms of the agreement we are going to take will be that few candidates at all points. And about presidential candidature, we will provide a viable candidate. There are things you preempt and you place those things on the table. The idea is that when the game starts, we are ready. The idea is that we must reconcile but also maintain our identity as an opposition party.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
Follow us on:
