A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dele Momodu, has said the party has been fair to the South and insisted that only a northern candidate can challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking during an appearance on Arise TV on Wednesday, Momodu reacted to the recent defection of former Delta State governor and PDP vice-presidential candidate in 2023, Ifeanyi Okowa, describing the move as opportunistic.
“Going to the APC [for Okowa] was an opportunistic move. Why the hurry? Tinubu has not even done half-time,” he said.
Momodu also refuted Okowa’s claims that Atiku Abubakar was planning to defect to the APC. Okowa had earlier suggested, during an appearance on the same programme on Tuesday, that Atiku was on his way out of the PDP.
Responding, Momodu said, “The Atiku that I know is not a desperate politician; his description is that of a consummate democrat. I met him about three to four weeks ago in Abuja, and he told me politics for him is a game that should be played in a clean manner. You win, fine; you don’t, you go back to the drawing board. That is why you will never find thugs in front of his house.”
He added, “To say Atiku is going to APC is impossible; I can guarantee you.”
Momodu insisted that Atiku’s ambition has never dictated the direction of the PDP.
He said, “PDP does not have a North-South problem. The PDP fielded General Obasanjo from 1999 to 2007. Thereafter, Yar’Adua came in but unfortunately passed away in office, and Goodluck Jonathan completed the term. Jonathan then did another four years, ending in 2015. They still gave him the ticket again that year, which he lost to Buhari. Had he won, southerners would have ruled for 17 of the PDP’s 20 years in power.
“He continued, “People say it should be eight years North, then eight years South—under which constitution?”
“We must not run away from the truth: the PDP has been fair to the South,” he said.
Momodu also claimed that during the 2023 primaries, Atiku supported zoning the presidency to the South-East, and Peter Obi, now of the Labour Party, was “frustrated out” of the PDP. He added that Nyesom Wike, now FCT Minister, had at one point been ready to serve as Atiku’s running mate.
Coalition Politics
Responding to comments by Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, who dismissed opposition coalition talks as “dead on arrival”, Momodu insisted it was worth pursuing.
“It will not happen until it has been tried and tested,” he said. “I have a theory that Tinubu can only be countered this time by a northerner. Any southerner telling you they want to contest against Tinubu is only wasting their time.”
He added, “The PDP or the coalition also want power, and the only way they can get it is to go by Isaac Newton’s law of actions and reactions, which are always equal and opposite. So, they will come from the opposite direction; I can guarantee that.”
