“PDP Governors Playing Tinubu’s Spoiler Game” — Atiku-Led Coalition Slams Opposition Within Party

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s political coalition has taken aim at governors within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accusing them of undermining efforts to build a united opposition ahead of the 2027 presidential election. The coalition, formed to challenge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), described the governors’ recent stance as a betrayal of democratic progress.

The criticism followed a resolution by the PDP Governors’ Forum at a meeting on Monday, April 14, where they expressed opposition to the coalition initiative. In a statement released by coalition spokesman Salihu Moh Lukman, the group warned that the PDP governors’ actions serve to weaken opposition unity and ultimately benefit the Tinubu administration.

“The PDP Governors’ Forum is wittingly or unwittingly playing Asiwaju’s spoiler game, and they expect Nigerians to take them seriously,” Lukman said. He argued that the coalition represents “a viable option not only for defeating the APC and President Tinubu, but also for rescuing Nigeria’s democracy from imminent collapse.”

Lukman criticized the PDP for failing to re-establish itself as a credible opposition after more than a decade out of power. “Instead, the party went into suspended animation until the rampaging Tinubu-led APC found a willing undertaker to finally put it to rest,” he said, suggesting the party has lost its political relevance.

He further accused certain elements within the PDP of colluding with the APC, specifically singling out Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. “Wike is the untouchable super minister in Asiwaju’s government, not because of the sterling job he is doing in the FCT, but because he has done a great job of ensuring that the PDP is not able to present a presidential candidate to challenge Tinubu for power in 2027.”

The coalition claims the PDP governors are now working to revive the party, not to offer a genuine alternative, but to divide the opposition vote and weaken the broader coalition. “The new agenda is to revive the PDP to stand as a counterforce to the coalition and present a candidate who would split the vote in 2027,” Lukman warned.

The statement underscores deepening divisions within Nigeria’s opposition ranks, as the race toward 2027 begins to take shape.