Parallel guber candidates emerge for PDP in states

From Mumini Abdulkareem (Ilorin), Haruna Gimba Yaya (Gombe), Ado Abubakar Musa (Jos) The leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the national level has taken a dramatic turn in the states with rival factions conducting separate governorship primaries and producing parallel candidates for the 2027 election. Daily Trust reports that parallel candidates have emerged for the party in states like Kwara, Gombe, Plateau, Bauchi, Katsina among others. In Kwara State, the development has thrown the opposition party into uncertainty barely a week after it celebrated what appeared to be a hard-won consensus arrangement aimed at presenting a united front against the ruling APC in the state. While the mainstream PDP structure in Kwara had earlier announced Engr. Kale Kawu as its consensus governorship candidate, a rival faction aligned with the national leadership bloc led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki announced Alhaji Ladi Hassan as its own flag-bearer. Hassan is a long-time ally of Saraki, the leader of the party loyal to the Wike-backed faction of the party. The emergence of two candidates has raised questions over the fortunes of the PDP in the state ahead of 2027. Confirming the development during a telephone interview on Monday, Hassan told Daily Trust that he emerged under the faction’s platform and would address the matter in greater detail later. “Yes, I am with the Turaki-led faction and yes, I am their candidate,” he said. Reacting to the emergence of the rival candidate, the Kwara PDP leadership dismissed the exercise and accused external forces of attempting to destabilise the party. State Secretary, Kayode Abdulrahman, alleged that the factional process lacked legitimacy and was being driven by interests outside the recognised party structure. Also, barely five days after the former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, emerged as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State, the Turaki-led faction of the party has declared Alhaji Ahmed Yayari as its parallel candidate. At an event held in Abuja, Yayari, the immediate past National Treasurer of the party, was affirmed as the “authentic” gubernatorial candidate for Gombe State. Pantami had been declared the sole candidate of the PDP after securing an affirmation vote from party delegates during a primary election held last Tuesday in Gombe. Daily Trust reports that Pantami defected to the PDP after losing out on the ticket under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). However, four other gubernatorial aspirants—Alhaji Abdulkadir Hamma Saleh, Hon. Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, Hon. Usman Aliyu Garry, and Mrs. Monica Kaltho—have rejected Pantami’s emergence as the party’s standard-bearer. The emergence of Yayari as the candidate of the factional PDP has further deepened the crisis rocking the party since Pantami’s entry into its ranks. Meanwhile, the mainstream state chapter of the PDP, in a statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Abdulkadir Ahmad Dukku, described the primary election conducted in Abuja as illegal, alleging it was organized “by some disgruntled elements claiming to be members of the party in Gombe State.” “The PDP in Gombe State, under the leadership of Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo and the state party chairman, Maj. Gen. Amnon Kwaskebe (Rtd), wishes to categorically state that all PDP primary elections have been concluded in Gombe State. “The PDP in Gombe State is one united family without any faction and cannot stand by and watch mischievous elements cause confusion within the party ranks. We, therefore, dissociate ourselves from such an unconstitutional act capable of causing division among party members,” Dukku said. Similarly, two governorship candidates on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), have emerged to represent the party in the upcoming election in Plateau State. The two candidates, who hail from Plateau Central Zone, were declared winners by different primary election committees linked to the Saminu Turaki and Abdulrahman Mohammed factions. Our correspondent recalled that on Tuesday, Abdulrahman Baduwa, chairman of a primary committee, declared that Kefas Ropshik polled 19,938 votes across the 17 LGAs to defeat three other aspirants. However, on Thursday, the PDP chairmen from all 17 LGAs affirmed Sunday Biggs as the party’s governorship candidate. The primary election committee chairman and former National Legal Adviser of the PDP, Mark Jacob, described Biggs’s selection process as a model of internal democracy.