The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) South-South caretaker committee, Emmanuel Ogidi, has declared that the opposition party will not headhunt for a presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Tuesday, Ogidi said the PDP already has its candidates and will not be swayed by speculations linking the party to former President Goodluck Jonathan or Labour Party’s Peter Obi.
According to Ogidi, the PDP has a clear plan for 2027 and will unveil its candidate at the appropriate time.
“It’s called the Peoples Democratic Party, so what do you expect? We are talking about the people. Of course, we are the leading opposition, so we are going to direct the tone and the game, but we still have our joker,” he said.
“In the game of cards, you don’t show your strength at the first hand. We just zoned, and we can’t start talking about that now. What we have to do is plan towards the convention where we can have the new officers that would drive the process.”
‘Doors Are Open, But We’re Not Head-Hunting’
Ogidi stressed that the party remains open to new and returning members but is not on a desperate search for candidates.
“The PDP is free for people to come in and go. We are not going to headhunt, we already have candidates. The doors are open for those who are interested to come in. Right now, our pursuit is not the candidate but to get back the confidence of the people. Because we have not played that active role of opposition, that’s why APC gets away with all things,” the party chieftain explained.
The South-South caretaker chairman urged Nigerians to give the party another chance, promising that the PDP would return stronger in 2027.
“Let me use this opportunity to plead with Nigerians to give us the opportunity. We are coming back strong. PDP is a solid rock, an Iroko tree in the forest, all other trees bow. That’s why we want to get it right on this convention day. We need to have the best team to run the process for us. The party is not owned by anybody,” Ogidi said.
Ogidi also likened the PDP’s current position to a storm-tested tree, saying that fewer numbers could strengthen strategy.
“When the present president was the governor of Lagos State, he was the only one standing at that time and he weathered the storm. Sometimes the fewer people you have, the better the plans, and we are really planning. Watch out for bigger surprises. We are going to pull out bigger surprises, we are going to surprise Nigerians,” he added.