Segun Sowunmi: PDP won’t be forced into unclear coalition

Segun Sowunmi, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says the party will not be forced into a nebulous coalition. 

Sowunmi, convener of The Alternative, spoke during an interview with TVC on Tuesday.

He said while individuals are free to align politically, political parties like the PDP must be approached with clarity and respect for their ideology and structure.

“I think that anyone who will drive the type of idea of a coalition must separate individuals from parties,” he said.

“Individuals have the right, the reason, and the privilege to desire to come together on an individual basis.

“For any political party, of the 18 registered political parties in this country, there is not a single one of them who will not say ‘what is the basis of this coming together?’ ‘How do we make it happen?’ ‘What are the roles assigned?’ ‘Which is the vehicle?’

“And with due respect, the Peoples Democratic Party is one of the legacy parties in Nigeria, founded in 1998 by great men who envisioned that a political party must have some underpinnings that drive it.”

He said the PDP was built on the principles of national unity, zoning, and a centre-right ideology that balances pro-business policies with welfarist ideas.

“One of the underpinnings that drive the PDP as envisioned is that it will be a pan-Nigerian party, it will be a party that recognises the unique diversity in our country and respects the principles of zoning,” he said.

“It will be a right-of-centre party, which means it will be pro-business, pro-private sector, it will be a party that has strong welfarist concepts — that’s why you see us do all the things we have done.”

He said any talk of coalition must be preceded by a clear explanation to party stakeholders, especially its governors.

“Now, if you are going to drag the PDP into this kind of conversation, they must first of all be informed as to why,” he added.

“And so, I think what the governors have done is not necessarily to say that conversation can’t happen the way it is happening, but it is to make everybody in the country clear about the fact that no one is going to hoodwink, browbeat, force the PDP into an arrangement that they are not clear about.”

GOVERNORS’ COMMUNIQUE

Sowunmi asked whether the PDP is expected to dissolve or surrender its political machinery to parties with no structures.

“Do they have to de-register their party? Are they going to empty the party into a smaller one?” he asked.

“They have about 13 governors minus the one that is basically suspended now. They have enough senators, they have enough house of reps… are those ones supposed to now suddenly start milling into a party that has absolutely nothing to offer in terms of existing leadership structures?”

He said the recent communiqué issued by PDP governors should not be misinterpreted as a sign of disunity.

“I think that in wording the communiqué, maybe something might have suggested that there is a quarrel or disagreement,” he said.

“No, there is none. It is a conversation that is ongoing.”

Sowunmi added that Atiku Abubakar, a former vice-president who is pushing for the coalition, would still have to formally consult with the PDP.

“I am sure at some point in time, Atiku Abubakar, who is trying to say opposition should come together, would still have to go and meet the party and explain to them,” 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.

On Tuesday, Gabriel Suswam, former governor of Benue, said PDP governors cannot reject merger talks ahead of the 2027 elections without first addressing the party’s internal crisis.

Suswam said the resolution by the governors is “out of touch with reality” and does not reflect the mood among party members and stakeholders.