JUST IN: Our Reconciliation Won’t Include Option Of Endorsing Tinubu — PDP

The Kabiru Turaki-led National Working Committee of the Peo­ples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that even though the party is desirous of reconciliation, it won’t include the option of en­dorsing President Bola Tinubu for re-election in 2027.

It noted that the principle that will guide the discussion is that the majority of the members of the party understand the fact that they’re an opposition party, and not an appendage of another party.

Recall that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, declared that his camp remains firmly in control of the machinery of the PDP, insisting that any reconciliation within the par­ty would be pursued from a position of strength.

Even though he agreed to reconciliation, he, however, noted that reconciliation must be genuine, and warned the other faction against clandes­tine maneuvers.

The National Publicity Sec­retary of the party, Comrade Ini Ememobong, who spoke on Arise TV on Thursday, stressed that the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party had decided to toe the path of peace to save the party from destruction and to allow its members who want to contest in the forthcoming elections to have the platform to do so.

He maintained that the party will field candidates in all fields, including a presiden­tial candidate.

Ememobong said, “The principle that will guide that discussion is the principle of the fact that you cannot bring a minority opinion and impose on the majority.

The majority of the members of this party understand the fact that we’re an opposition. We’re not an ap­pendage of another party. And so, by the time we get to elec­tions and election fever comes, a lot of things will change.”

Responding to the ques­tion on the position of Wike’s group which has made it clear that it would support Tinubu’s re-election, he said, “I can assure you that we won’t endorse the president. What we’re doing now is when you’re a leader, you’re listening to the people you’re leading.

In the circumstance that we are, we’re delegates of power. We’re listening to the delegates who delegated the power to us to act.

And at this point, the delegates of power have said, can we at least get to the table? It’s not a must that every reconciliation that starts will end in a way. I mean, when parties come to the ta­ble you come with your zone of possible agreement. You come with your irreducible minimums.

And one of the irreducible minimums, and the complete agreement is that we have found ourselves here by both external and internal factors. In going for­ward, if there must be peace, one of the terms of the agree­ment we’re going to take will be that we’ll field candidates at all levels.

About presiden­tial candidates? We’ll provide a viable candidate. There are things you preempt and you place those things on the ta­ble. We’re going with an open mind for reconciliation. But that reconciliation must keep us as an opposition party.