The leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, deepened on Wednesday as two rival candidates for the 2027 Benue State governorship election separately received Certificates of Return from different factions of the party.

Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Michael Aondoakaa, SAN, received his Certificate of Return at the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Abuja, after emerging the governorship candidate of the faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

Aondoakaa was accompanied by his running mate, Dr Oyije Ochaekiti Ogbenjuwa, as well as prominent PDP leaders and stakeholders from Benue State.

Speaking after receiving the certificate, Aondoakaa thanked the leadership and members of the party for the confidence reposed in him and pledged to justify the mandate by uniting the PDP and leading it to victory in the 2027 governorship election.

However, in a parallel development, the rival faction of the party led by former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), also presented a Certificate of Return to Dr Emmanuel Agbo, Director-General of the PDP Governors’ Forum, after declaring him the winner of its governorship primary.

While the Wike-backed faction held its certificate presentation at the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Abuja, the venue of the ceremony organised by the Turaki-led faction could not be independently verified as of the time of filing this report.

The parallel presentation of Certificates of Return marks the latest chapter in the protracted leadership crisis that has divided the PDP into rival camps, with both factions laying claim to the party’s structure and leadership.

With both Aondoakaa and Agbo now holding Certificates of Return from their respective factions, attention has shifted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, which is yet to publish the final list of candidates for the 2027 Benue State governorship election. 

The Plateau State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has been plunged into further confusion as the faction of the party led by Tanimu Turaki, on Wednesday, presented a Certificate of Return to Sunday Garba Biggs as the party’s governorship candidate for the 2027 Plateau State governorship election.

This comes after the faction led by former Rivers State Governor and Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, also presented a Certificate of Return to its preferred governorship candidate for the 2027 election on Tuesday.

Biggs was presented with the certificate during a ceremony following a meeting of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party loyal to Turaki, which brought together state chairmen, party elders, members of the Board of Trustees, BOT, governorship candidates, and other stakeholders from across the country.

Biggs, who expressed his delight and satisfaction on receiving the Certificate of Return, said it formally places the responsibility of leading the PDP’s governorship campaign in Plateau State on him.

He noted that with the presentation, the PDP has expressed confidence in his ability to provide purposeful leadership and champion policies aimed at promoting good governance, peace, and sustainable development across the state.

Stakeholders and party faithful at the event also described Biggs as a leader with the vision and capacity to unite the people and build on the developmental aspirations of Plateau citizens.

The presentation of the certificate marks a significant step in the PDP’s preparations for the 2027 elections, but political observers in the state have pointed out that the party is on the verge of making a similar mistake it made in the 2023 election, which led to the Appeal Court removing all its elected lawmakers, as it did not abide by the rules.

Political analyst and former ally of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Segun Sowunmi, has predicted that President Bola Tinubu may get a weak result during the 2027 presidential election.

Sowunmi insisted that the 2027 presidential election may be between Tinubu and Atiku.

Featuring on Arise Television’s Morning Show, Sowunmi predicted that Tinubu might win 22 states in the 2027 presidential election.

He said: “The election is between Tinubu and Atiku no doubt about it and I believe that he’s going to win significantly better numbers in the Southeast because those are not places they usually get better numbers before.

“Of course, he is going to get good numbers in the Southwest. I even suspect that the South South may even bring in more good numbers than the Southeast, the way I’m looking at things.

“The president is going to do very well in the Northcentral, and he will do significantly better than he did the last time in the Northwest.

“For the Northwest, you have to look at where the big players are, the big boys that control the ,election and the big money.

“And when it comes to the Northeast, the vice president will have to pull his weight a little bit more and their governors would try more.

“Where I expect the president to be weak is probably in the North but in that North where the president may be weak, I have looked at all the governors and big players there.

“Let me give you an example of Katsina, the last time PDP won, one of the persons that worked very hard there was the then Director General of Atiku Campaign, we won Katsina though we lost the election, I went back to go and thank them and I have looked now Shema is no longer there, Isa Kenta is going to the APC, I have seen what Rabi is doing there.

“Take Kano for instance, they now have Shekarau over and above Ganduje, I have also looked at the big money people in Kano, I have looked at Dangote, BUA owner, you see these things don’t yield that way.”