By Caleb Ishaya
Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dan Ulasi, said he would welcome the return of the presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, to the PDP ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking during a television programme yesterday, Ulasi argued that Obi’s credibility and popularity would strengthen the party’s chances.
“I will be happy if he joins PDP because he will bring his credibility to bear on the party as we are reorganising. Any party that has him today know they already have more than 30 to 40 percent of the election because he has tremendous support across this country,” he said.
Ulasi added that Obi’s political future remains uncertain.
“To the best of my knowledge, Obi has no platform. He ran last time with Labour Party, he has attended the launching of ADC. I don’t know what his platform will be,” he noted.
On zoning, he called for fairness in selecting the 2027 ticket, stressing that the PDP has zoned the presidency to the south and urged that it be “micro-zoned”, especially to the South East, which he argued is the only region that has not yet produced a Nigerian president.
“If there is honesty, they should micro-zone it to the South East because we are the only zone, theoretically speaking, that has not had the presidency,” he said.
The PDP stalwart disclosed that the party is focused on rebuilding itself ahead of the polls.
“In the last national executive meeting, almost seven of our governors were there. It was refreshing that everybody is now talking about how to reorganise the party and put it on a stronger footing for 2027 and other elections,” he added.
Obi, who served as governor of Anambra State between 2006 and 2014, was PDP’s vice-presidential candidate in 2019.
He defected from the party in May 2022 after withdrawing from its presidential primary and later emerged Labour Party’s candidate.
His campaign, popularly known as the “Obidient Movement,” galvanised significant youth support and disrupted the traditional two-party contest in the 2023 elections, where he finished third behind Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.
