Nigeria’s principal opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has announced its intention to engage the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to encourage his return to the party that played a pivotal role in his political ascent.
In a recent interview with the BBC, PDP acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagun, addressed the former Kano State Governor’s recent remarks declaring the PDP as “dead” and incapable of achieving future success.
Damagun underscored the PDP’s openness to welcoming back all former members, including Senator Kwankwaso.
He expressed that Kwankwaso’s comments were somewhat unfair, as the NNPP chieftain had previously secured political victories while affiliated with the PDP.
The acting chairman further asserted that the PDP has maintained its strength over 26 years, continuing to operate under the same name and boasting a presence of governors and senators from all regions of Nigeria.
He contended that even if four other parties were to merge, they would still fall short of the PDP’s formidable strength.
“People are entitled to their opinions, but I want to remind him of the past. When they left the PDP in 2015, if the party didn’t die back then, during a time they thought they had weakened it, I don’t see why anyone would claim it is dead now.
“Let’s not forget that the PDP remains the only party capable of winning elections if you exclude the ruling APC,” Damagun said.
In response to Kwankwaso’s assertions regarding his marginalization within the PDP, which led him to reject any intentions of collaborating with the party for the 2027 elections, Damagun acknowledged that several of Kwankwaso’s concerns were indeed legitimate.
He elaborated that during Kwankwaso’s initial attempts to depart from the PDP, he, as the party’s deputy national chairman for the North at the time, made considerable efforts to address the issues but ultimately could not achieve a resolution.
“That said, there is no party better than the PDP for Kwankwaso. The party nurtured his political career and brought him to where he is today. We still hope he will return to work with us to rebuild our party and confront this oppressive government,” Damagun added.
The PDP chairman stated that God willing, the party will soon reach out to Kwankwaso despite knowing he was angry, adding that his aspirations might not be achievable in his current party.
“The PDP has always been a party that welcomes back any of its members who left in anger. Whenever they return, we give them opportunities just like everyone else,” Damagun concluded.
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