THE PDP, a political behemoth membered by ultra-right conservatives, political centrists, and those slightly to the left of centre spectrum. It is a rainbow party driven along different trajectories, fuelled by the contradictory objectives of its principled members intent on building and sustaining a functional party, and those opportunistically using it as a use-and-dump political vehicle.
Its powerful president in 1999 to 2007, was politically checkmated by a stubborn vice president, copiously resorting to the rule of law to entrench democracy in the nation, reinforced by proactive members of the National Assembly, and a fairly impartial judiciary. Its epochal electoral reforms, culminating in its conceding defeat in the 2015 elections, effected a seamless transfer of power to an opposition party, the first in the nation’s political annals, elevated Nigeria’s democracy to a higher level.
As an African ruling party, it was set to dominate the nation’s political space for a long time. Whether it was its membership base, or the extent of its political power, or a decoy to frighten and drive the opposition into the nation’s second political teams, the PDP was boastful of its political future, proclaiming its extravagant projection to uninterruptedly rule up to 2075 (60 years). That was in 2015.
Rather than perpetually dominate the power stage, its delusion of grandeur was truncated by 44 years. Since then, the party to beat has been the ruling APC, which without being boastful of its future designs, has been strategising to dominate the nation’s political space for a long time.
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Proxy leaderships beholden to vested powerful interests are exerting a dangerous toll on Nigeria’s major opposition party. The disbandment of its Ayu leadership as a fallout of its last presidential primaries; the alleged political romance by a faction of its leadership, with those bent on destroying the party; its defeat in gubernatorial elections in Edo and Ondo states; the ongoing tussle for the secretaryship of the party; the recent invasion of its BOT meeting by thugs; the intriguing postponements of its NEC meeting; the desertions by its high profile members (the latest include former Governor Attahiru Bafarawa, and Senator Chinedu Nwodo) reveal a distressed party, losing steam and unprepared to confront the ruling party in 2027.
The boast to rule for a long time, reflected the mindset of Africa’s ruling parties, none of which wouldn’t want to remain perpetually in power. The PDP’s unattainable projection was reduced to a political tragic comedy in 2015, forcing it to share fate and rub shoulders with hitherto relatively smaller parties (the Labour Party and NNPP) in the 2023 elections.
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According to a report in the online version of Nigerian Tribune (3/2/2025), in the ongoing consultations for a mega merger party by Northern political groups, and other political stakeholders across the nation, the PDP is disparaged as an effective oppositional platform for the 2027 confrontation.
Its governors, constituting themselves into the most powerful bloc in the party, are alleged to be incapable of reinventing the party to challenge the APC in an electoral contest. Most, or all of them, are said to be afraid of PBAT, with a few of them alleged to be working for his re-election in 2027.
However, its internal contradictions; the corrupt disposition of some of its leaders, pitching it against the change seekers of 2015; and its electoral banditry in 2003 and 2007, didn’t preclude the PDP from deepening democracy in Africa’s largest democracy. But before reducing it to a political relic, the party should be appreciated for its contribution to democratic growth in Nigeria.
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The baggage of Africa’s ruling parties to level the political space to their taste, is adeptly reproduced by the successor to the PDP, demonstrating its exceptional capacity to actualise its political goals, becoming an unfathomable challenge to the nation’s opposition parties. Should the APC be as boastful to rule as the PDP was in 2015, Nigerians would worry, because its administration has proven to do whatever it wills.
Its powerful president in 1999 to 2007, was politically checkmated by a stubborn vice president, copiously resorting to the rule of law to entrench democracy in the nation, reinforced by proactive members of the National Assembly, and a fairly impartial judiciary. Its epochal electoral reforms, culminating in its conceding defeat in the 2015 elections, effected a seamless transfer of power to an opposition party, the first in the nation’s political annals, elevated Nigeria’s democracy to a higher level.
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Despite becoming the punch bag of the ruling party, and other opposition leaders, its omissions and restraints in 2015 underscored a democratic uprightness unusual in an African ruling party.
It could, like the ruling APC, plant its moles in both the ACN and CPC to frustrate the 2013 merger, or make it less effective, but seemed indisposed to destructive interference in the opposition parties. Despite its electoral reforms, it could have selfishly and unfairly exerted pressure on the electoral agency to tilt the balance against the winning party. Without let or hindrance, it allowed the electoral commission to impartially discharge its mandate.
The PDP governors should exorcise themselves of the fear of PBAT, before the party is strategically repositioned for effective electoral engagements in 2027, which could hardly be achieved without nurturing a robust internal party democracy, to prevent political entrepreneurs from preventing the principled party members and leaders from building and sustaining a Nigerian party.
At subnational level, it refused to rein in its errant governors dumping the party, fuelling the formation of a powerful God-sent breakaway faction, the nPDP to the APC, which substantially improved its fortunes in the 2015 elections. The breakaway governors were neither threatened to back off, nor were they discouraged from leaving the PDP.
Though, the opposition was determined not to allow anyone to steal its mandate, the commissions, omissions and restraints of the PDP were self-willed.
The baggage of Africa’s ruling parties to level the political space to their taste, is adeptly reproduced by the successor to the PDP, demonstrating its exceptional capacity to actualise its political goals, becoming an unfathomable challenge to the nation’s opposition parties. Should the APC be as boastful to rule as the PDP was in 2015, Nigerians would worry, because its administration has proven to do whatever it wills.
Despite its control of a few subnational governments, with a sizable number of National and States Assembly members, the plans to float a political behemoth to confront the APC in 2027, without its prominent imprimatur, relegates the PDP to the backstage of Nigeria’s politics, set to become a political relic to be mostly relevant in Inter Party Advisory Council and related bodies, conferring a semblance of credibility to the nation’s democratic project.
The PDP governors should exorcise themselves of the fear of PBAT, before the party is strategically repositioned for effective electoral engagements in 2027, which could hardly be achieved without nurturing a robust internal party democracy, to prevent political entrepreneurs from preventing the principled party members and leaders from building and sustaining a Nigerian party.
Jahun, a commentator on public affairs writes from Dutse, Jigawa State Capital. He can be reached via email @ aminuhabibu58@gmail.com.
