2027: PDP group rallies Igbo community for Makinde

Reset Lagos PDP, a group within the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has rallied the support of the Igbo community in the state behind Governor Seyi Makinde, assuring that their interest will be adequately catered to should the Oyo State governor get the party’s presidential ticket and become the next president in 2027. 

Convener, Reset Lagos PDP, Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse, who is also the Convener of National Support Group for Makinde, gave this assurance at a parley held between the group and the Igbo community, under the aegis of Igbonine Great Peoples Assembly, in Ago area of the state.

The parley was attended by Chief Ifeanyi Igboeze, Dr. Ugochukwu Nnajiofor, Patrick Umename, Chijioke Nwobi, Ogechukwu Dike, Esther Ezinne, Sister Elizabeth Nwogu, Chief Mathew Abogunde, Olasunkanmi Moses Oyekola, among others.

Pearse, who is also a Member of the Board of Governors, Peoples Democratic Institute, said that Makinde, as president, would do this because he “knows that Igbo community coming back to the PDP will help us win nationally, and not only in Lagos State.”

The PDP chieftain said what had been done at the day’s parley was to reestablish the PDP’s contact with the Igbo community, which he noted was lost in 2023 when Mr. Peter Obi came out to run for the presidential race as the candidate of the Labour Party (LP).

According to him, a lot of PDP members of the Igbo community went with him, saying that “unfortunately, some of our leaders in 2023 did not address the Igbo issue adequately enough before Obi came into the race, leading to loss of their support.

This was just as he quickly recalled that former Vice President Alex Ekweme was one of the leaders that originally formed PDP, declaring that “Igbo community belongs to PDP, PDP belongs to Igbo.”

He reiterated that what the meeting was about was “to reunite ourselves,” to ensure that come 2027, “Igbo community would support the PDP and work within the PDP to the benefits and dividends of democracy.”

“Igbonine Great Peoples Assembly is a national Igbo leadership group or organisation and what we have done today is to reestablishing the PDP contact with Igbo community. We lost the Igbo community in 2023 because when Obi came out to run for president, a lot of people in Igbo community from our party, the PDP went with him and unfortunately, some of our leaders in 2023 did not address the Igbo issue, question adequately enough before Obi came. So we lost the support.

“But now, especially as things are not looking as straight forward as they were for Obi in 2023 and the Igbo community is looking for what to do regarding the presidential inclusion for 2027, I thought to myself, here is an opportunity to go back and remind the Igbo community that, after all, it was Dr. Ekweme as the leader of the PDP that formed the PDP originally. So Igbo community belongs to PDP, PDP belongs to Igbo.

“So that’s what we came today to do, to reunite ourselves so that, come 2027, Igbo community would support the PDP and work within the PDP to the benefits and dividends of democracy, that’s the essence,” he said.

“And in my own capacity as the Convener of National Support Group for Makinde, I made a point that if Makinde should get the presidential ticket and becomes the Presidential Candidate of PDP, the Igbo community will be carried along 100 percent because Makinde himself believes in the Igbo community, Makinde wants to win and he knows that Igbo community coming back to PDP will help us win nationally, not only in Lagos State, that’s what we come to do today,” he added.

Pearse described the meeting as fantastic, saying that the Igbo community was on track to come back to PDP and be part of the family which they left, and work for the party’s victory in 2027.

“Well, the response has been fantastic as you have seen, everybody is on board. They asked a lot of questions, we gave a lot of clarification and based on their response, we have seen that we are all together. 

“The summary of it is that, Igbo community is on track to come back to PDP and be part of the family which they left for a few months. They are back now and we are working together towards victory for PDP towards 2027,” the PDP chieftain said.

Chairman of Lagos State chapter of Igbonine Great Peoples Assembly, Elder Okozie Anyanwu, who also spoke with our correspondent, equally described what took place as a family meeting, saying that there was need to reawaken PDP in Lagos State, which structures offered better opportunity for the Igbo.

Elder / Anyanwu, who is Member, Board of the group, said there was also the need to support at national level any candidate that emerged in PDP, now that they have zoned presidency to the South, but quickly threw support for Governor Makinde as next Nigeria’s president, describing him as a non-controversial person, with record of performance.

He assured that the group would work to ensure that Makinde becomes the next president, saying that it would adopt various strategies, which he refused to divulge, to achieve such.

“What has happened here today is like a family meeting. We are living in Lagos, we have people resident here, therefore, we must align with whatever good thing that is happening in Lagos. 

“We know that PDP, if you look at it from all the geo-political zones, majority of Igbo are in PDP. And so we have to reawaken PDP in Lagos State because I know that with the the kind of structures PDP has, Igbo stands to gain more, to benefit more from aligning with PDP. 

“And we have to support at national level any candidate that comes up, now that they have zoned presidency to the South. So whether from South-East, whether from South-West, as long as it is South under PDP, we are going to support.

“We are going to realize that just like the kind of meeting we had today. We are going to discuss, enter all the nooks and crannies, we have strategies. There are strategies to do this which I may not divulge here, but this is a game we know we can play better,” Nwuayawun stated.

“If he (Makinde) wins presidential ticket, I will support him. One, Makinde is never a controversial person. If you look at all the governors, he doesn’t carry himself. Makinde when you meet him, you know that you have met somebody and because of the things he has done, all the giant strides in development, he has restructured Oyo State, he is highly qualified. 

“He has done so many things, giving jobs to indigenes of Oyo State and non-indigenes. So Makinde has done a great thing. He is a likely candidate, God willing, he will be the next presidential candidate and then the president of this country,” he concluded.

ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE