Ose Anenih: PDP governors too scared to take on Tinubu

Ose Anenih, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says his party’s governors “do not have the balls” to take on President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election.

In a post on X, Anenih described the PDP governors forum’s declaration that it would not join any merger or coalition, as “hubristic” and out of touch with political reality.

He also dismissed a remark by Bode George, a member of the party’s board of trustees (BoT), who described the PDP as an iroko tree too big to merge with anyone.

“Sadly, her caretakers have become her undertakers,” Anenih, who served as the director of strategy, Asue Ighodalo campaign organisation in Edo state, wrote.

Anenih said the party, in its current state, cannot win a presidential election against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) without forming alliances.

“Numbers don’t lie. The PDP cannot win a presidential election against the APC by themselves. The path no longer exists. Tinubu to the West, Obi to the East and Atiku/El-Rufai/Obi to the North have boxed the party in,” he said.

He noted that in 2013, the merger of opposition parties that birthed the APC had 10 governors, while the PDP now has 12.

Anenih suggested that the reluctance of PDP governors to join a coalition stems from “pragmatic fear and self-interest”.

“Tinubu is not GEJ. The governors are well aware of this. As Gov Wike would say, ‘they don’t have the balls’,” he said.

He also alleged that at least two PDP governors are nursing presidential ambitions that conflict with the idea of a coalition.

“A coalition sends them to the back of the line. It might profit Nigeria but it will not profit them,” he added.

Anenih, however, said there is still time for the PDP to change course.

He urged Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president; Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra state; and other opposition figures to keep engaging with political groups not aligned with the APC.

He added that the coalition could come to fruition without the PDP.

“Victory can still be snatched from the jaws of defeat even if the PDP presents a presidential candidate not aligned with the coalition’s,” he said.

On Monday, governors elected on the platform of the PDP ruled out the possibility of a merger or coalition ahead of the 2027 poll.

The governors made their position known in a communiqué, after a meeting in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

Reacting, Dele Momodu, the publisher of Ovation Magazine, said PDP governors opposed to the coalition may secretly be working for Tinubu.

Speaking on Arise Television on Monday, Momodu said none of the leading opposition parties can unseat Tinubu by going it alone.