2027: PDP, Obidients tackle Wike over Jonathan, Obi

Clash of Comebacks: PDP, Obidients Fire Back at Wike Over Jonathan and Obi

The road to Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election is already heating up, and the political battlefield is ablaze with controversy. At the center of the storm is Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, whose recent remarks have sparked outrage within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Obidient movement, the passionate supporters of Peter Obi.

During a no-holds-barred media parley in Abuja, Wike dismissed the possibility of former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi returning to the PDP to contest in 2027. He warned that such moves would “create problems for the party,” and went further to say that bringing Obi back would “kill the party” entirely. Wike accused Obi of lacking political integrity, reminding the public that Obi had previously described the PDP as “rotten.” “Ambition can even make you go to Satan’s house,” Wike quipped, suggesting that political desperation was driving these speculations.

Wike’s comments didn’t sit well with PDP insiders or the Obidient base. Many party members and supporters of Obi saw his remarks as divisive and hypocritical, especially given the PDP’s own internal struggles with zoning and leadership balance. Wike had previously criticized the party for fielding both its presidential candidate and national chairman from the North in 2023, a move he claimed led to its electoral downfall. Now, with the PDP reportedly considering zoning the 2027 ticket to the South, figures like Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed have floated the idea of Obi or Jonathan as potential candidates.

The backlash was swift. PDP loyalists argued that Wike’s stance undermines efforts to rebuild the party and attract strong contenders capable of challenging the ruling APC. Obidients, on their part, viewed Wike’s attack on Obi as an attempt to gatekeep the PDP and stifle reformist voices. They pointed to Obi’s strong performance in the 2023 elections, where he garnered over six million votes and won across key regions, as evidence of his viability as a national candidate.

Wike also took aim at those promoting Jonathan’s return, calling them the same individuals who betrayed him in 2015. He urged Jonathan to remain an elder statesman, respected by the international community, rather than re-enter the fray of partisan politics.

As the PDP grapples with internal divisions and the challenge of presenting a united front, the tension between old guard figures like Wike and rising reformist forces like Obi continues to shape the narrative. Whether the party can reconcile these competing visions, or whether it will fracture further under the weight of ambition and ideology, remains one of the defining questions ahead of 2027.