A prominent figure within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a former member of Atiku Abubakar’s 2023 Presidential Campaign Council, Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse, emphasized in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday that the party does not require any merger in preparation for the 2027 general elections.
Pearse dismissed the notion of a potential merger between the PDP and other political entities, underscoring that the party remains viable and must focus on internal unity and organization to secure electoral victories.
“PDP cannot be running away. Let us forget merger. Are you talking about PDP merging with some of these political parties which do not have offices?
“We should look inward, reposition ourselves and improve the party, that is what we need to do.
“PDP is not finished if we do right thing. President Tinubu will be gone in 2027 if we do the right thing,” he said.
According to Pearse, there is no party PDP can merge with: “PDP needs to stand on its own and build what it has. If we build what we have we will defeat anybody.
“We have 13 governors now, we have 40 per cent of the National Assembly. What do we need merger for and with who? What can merger bring to PDP?”
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Pearse attributed Chief Bola Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 presidential election to the failure of PDP’s candidate, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, to reconcile with former Rivers governor, Nyesom Wike, and other key figures, according to Pearse.
“It was Atiku that failed to do his job. He didn’t do what he needed to do. He should not have fought against Wike, even if he didn’t want to use him as his vice, he could have promised to make him minister of petroleum.
“Wike will do the work and release money to prosecute the election and ensure victory for the party. He didn’t do it,” he said.
According to NAN, there are calls from certain politicians and analysts for the merging of opposition political parties in preparation for the 2027 general election.