A prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Segun Sowunmi, has called on the party to explore ways to bring back Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, into its fold. Obi, who left the PDP in May 2022 citing widespread bribery and vote-buying during the party’s presidential primary, as well as internal cliques working against him, secured 6.2 million votes in the 2023 election but lost to President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking in an interview on Friday, Sowunmi emphasized the need for the PDP to engage Obi, highlighting the organic support he commands. “Any deep-thinking, fair-minded Nigerian in the PDP ought to know that the greatest, necessary next step is to have the conversation about: ‘How do you bring Peter back’ now that the energy driving him is organic,” Sowunmi stated. He noted that despite Obi’s loss at the polls and subsequent defeat at the Supreme Court, his influence remains significant.
The PDP has been grappling with internal turmoil since the 2023 election, where its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, was defeated. The crisis deepened following the suspension of former National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu, with Deputy National Chairman (North), Umar Damagum, appointed as acting chairman. Efforts by the North Central zone to replace Damagum with a substantive chairman have fueled divisions, while a legal battle over the national secretary position between Samuel Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye has further complicated matters.
Sowunmi described the party’s challenges, including a recent wave of defections to the All Progressives Congress (APC), as “self-inflicted” and attributed them to a lack of creativity within the PDP. He also cautioned against underestimating President Tinubu, whom he described as intellectually formidable despite appearing frail. “The painful thing is that my own side is choosing to pretend that he is an easy material to defeat in politics. What do they know that he doesn’t know?” Sowunmi remarked.
