…declares self APC’s only real challenger

…As Onor takes swipes at Atiku, Obi, Kwankwaso

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA — The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Tuesday adopted Senator Sandy Onor as its sole consensus presidential candidate for the 2027 election and immediately declared itself the only opposition force capable of taking power from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

The adoption also served as a public show of unity by a party seeking to recover from months of internal crisis, with PDP leaders insisting the turmoil was over and that the party was ready to reclaim its place as the country’s main opposition platform ahead of 2027.

Speaking at the event in Abuja, the Chairman of the Presidential Primary Election Committee, Dr Samuel Ortom; the party’s National Chairman, Mohammed Abdulrahman; and Onor all presented the consensus process as evidence that the PDP had regained stability and political direction.

Announcing the outcome of consultations conducted across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Ortom formally declared Onor as the party’s consensus candidate.

Ortom said, “Having conducted consultations across the 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, I am pleased to formally announce that we have adopted Professor Sandy Onor as the consensus candidate of our great party for the 2027 presidential election.

“Those in agreement, say ‘Aye.’ Is anybody in disagreement? You may say ‘No.’ The ayes have it.”

The announcement drew loud applause from delegates and party officials as Onor was ushered forward and formally presented as the PDP’s flag bearer.

Earlier, Abdulrahman said the emergence of a sole candidate reflected the collective decision of party leaders and members across the country.

“The chairman of this very important programme today has said everything. We are here for endorsement because we have only one person aspiring to the office of President in 2027,” he said.

Abdulrahman also commended officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for monitoring the party’s congresses, primaries and convention activities across the country.

In his acceptance speech, Onor declared that the PDP had finally moved beyond the prolonged internal battles that weakened the party in recent years.

“Today, we have reclaimed our party, the legacy party, the Peoples Democratic Party. Today, we have a leadership that is united, purposeful and visionary,” he said.

Onor also used the occasion to dismiss the African Democratic Congress, ADC, coalition as an unstable alliance driven more by personal ambition than shared political direction.

He said, “The point I am making is that if you are looking for any party with the capacity to contend with the ruling APC, that party is the PDP.

“Atiku would say, ‘When I started running for the presidency, where were some of them? Were they not in secondary school? Were they not in primary school? Had they even started politics then?’

“We knew nothing would make them step down for one another. There was also a tendency characterised by a messianic complex among people like Obi and Kwankwaso, who felt that if they did not become president, Nigeria would collapse.

“But the drama happened even sooner than we calculated. Before we knew it, people began migrating out of the coalition. If you observed carefully, there was what I call the ‘Andrews Liver Salt effect’, like a bubble that rises suddenly and disappears within days.

“It left the ADC struggling to explain that it was not finished. But we knew the ADC was finished,” he added.

Onor acknowledged that the PDP had gone through difficult internal divisions but insisted the party had now stabilised and was consolidating ahead of the 2027 election.

“Yes, we have had our issues. It is normal and natural. But trust me, we have overcome our worst fears. We have soared beyond our anxieties. We have crossed the Rubicon,” he said.

The PDP presidential candidate also sought to present himself as a unifying national figure.

“I shall maintain a pan-Nigerian disposition in all I do. Citizens of this country will be proud that we have a PDP that is ready to govern well,” he said.

Beyond the politics, Onor said his administration would focus on rural poverty, which he described as a major driver of insecurity and economic hardship across the country.

“We cannot be poor in the midst of so much. Insecurity is fundamentally a function of rural poverty. If local governments are properly funded, many of our young men and women will be meaningfully engaged at that level,” he said.

He argued that stronger local government administration and grassroots investment would help reduce unemployment, banditry and terrorism in many rural communities.

The PDP candidate also dismissed suggestions that the party remained divided, insisting there was only one legally recognised PDP.

“For some time now, the erroneous impression has been created that there are two PDPs. Nothing could be further from the truth.

“There is only one PDP,” he said, insisting the party had moved beyond the divisions that nearly crippled it.

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