Emmanuel Ogidi, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, South-South caretaker committee, on Tuesday said the party will not headhunt for a presidential candidate in 2027.
Reacting to PDP’s zoning of its presidency to the South and the chances of either Peter Obi or former President Goodluck Jonathan returning, Ogidi said the party has its candidate.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, Ogidi said PDP’s doors are always open to new and returning members.
He said: “It’s called the Peoples Democratic Party, so what do you expect? We are talking about the people. Of course, we are the leading opposition, so we are going to direct the tone and the game, but we still have our joker.
“In the game of cards, you don’t show your strength at the first hand. The truth of the matter is that we set out this committee, which was inaugurated some two weeks ago and came up with the recommendation, and NEC being the highest body, needed to see it, and that means it’s exactly what Nigerians want.
“The truth of the matter is that we just zoned and we can’t start talking about that now. What we have to do now is that we are planning towards the convention where we can have the new officers that would drive the process.
“The PDP is free for people to come in and go. We are not going to headhunt, we already have candidates. The doors are open for those who are interested to come in. Right now our pursuit is not the candidate but to get back the confidence of the people. Because we have not played that active role of opposition, that’s why APC gets away with all things.”
Ogidi urged Nigerians to give PDP another chance because the party will bounce back stronger.
He likened the PDP to an Iroko tree that other trees bow to in the forest.
Ogidi added: “Let me use this opportunity to plead with Nigerians to give us the opportunity. We are coming back strong.
“PDP is a solid rock, an Iroko tree in the forest, all other trees bow. That’s why we want to get it right on this convention day. We need to have the best team to run the process for us, that’s why I said Nigeria should be patient with us—then we will see who owns the papal ground. The party is not owned by anybody.
“We have the grassroots. When the present president was the governor of Lagos State, he was the only one standing at that time and he weathered the storm. Sometimes the fewer people you have, the better the plans, and we are really planning.
“Watch out for bigger surprises. We are going to pull out bigger surprises, we are going to surprise Nigerians.”