Former Governor of Benue State Gabriel Suswam has decried the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ‘s current situation, saying Nigerians have completely lost confidence in the party.
Speaking on Arise Television’s The Morning Show on Tuesday, Suswam said many people and stakeholders are no longer interested in the opposition party because of its lingering crisis and leadership failure.
“There are many fundamental problems in PDP and those problems have not been sorted out. So, a lot of people, in their minds are no longer in PDP, a lot of stakeholders and that’s because of the failure of leadership in PDP,” he stated.
He maintained that for the PDP to stand a chance in the 2027 presidential election, it has to fix its leadership problem and present a credible candidate.
The ex-governor condemned the practice of giving the party’s presidential ticket to the highest bidder.
He stressed that the PDP, with its structure all over the country, should not be struggling to win elections.
Suswam said, “Two factors that can enhance PDP’s chances in the next election. The first is transparent leadership. People have lost confidence in PDP completely. This is a party that has structures all over the country, but because of a lack of good leadership, that has diminished substantially.
“The second issue is the candidate. When we talk about candidates, let us have people who have interests. It is not just about somebody sitting and saying I want to be presidential candidate of PDP, that will not suffice.”
Suswam’s comment followed the PDP Governors’ resolution not to join any coalition or merger ahead of the 2027 presidential election, despite the position of Atiku Abubakar, a founding member of the party and its presidential candidate in the last election in the coalition.
Despite Atiku being an arrowhead of the coalition, the PDP Governors, in a communique released after their meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, on Monday, April 14, 2025, said, “The party will not join any coalition or merger.”
Hours after the governors’ meeting, Chief Bode George, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees, rejected the possibility of Atiku getting the party’s presidential ticket again.
Atiku, who was the party’s presidential candidate in the 2019 and 2023 presidential election has been contesting for Nigeria’s president for over three decades.
George said Atiku’s emergence as the party’s 2027 presidential candidate will signify the end of the PDP in Nigerian politics.
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