PDP insists Onor still in presidential race despite support for Tinubu

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says its presidential candidate, Sandy Onor, is still in the race for the 2027 elections. This is despite the party's choice to back President Bola Tinubu through a political agreement called the Rainbow Coalition.

George Turner, the PDP chairman in Bayelsa State, shared this during an interview on TVC News’ Beyond the Headlines as Nigeria gears up for the 2027 general election.

When asked if supporting the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate meant Mr. Onor was out of the race, Mr. Turner replied, “No, no, no, no, no. He is in the race.”

He explained that the Rainbow Coalition is not a merger. It is a political platform that allows parties to keep their candidates while supporting agreed candidates at different levels.

“The Rainbow Coalition is a cross-party political platform, with all the political parties coming on board with their candidates,” he said.

Mr. Turner mentioned that the coalition's decisions affect the state assembly, governorship, National Assembly, and presidential elections. He stated that for the presidency, the coalition has chosen Mr. Tinubu as their candidate.

“For the presidency, it is President Ahmed Tinubu that is the candidate of the Rainbow Coalition,” he said.

He added that the presidential candidates from the participating parties, including Mr. Onor, will guide their supporters to back Mr. Tinubu. He mentioned that they announced this decision during the coalition's launch in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, two days ago after talking with party leaders and the PDP’s National Working Committee.

Mr. Turner noted that similar political arrangements have happened before, referring to the APC’s 2015 convention and the support Bola Tinubu gave to the PDP’s presidential candidate in 2011.

“The overall interest here is the interest of the people, the interest of the nation, the interest of the various states, and that is what drives the Rainbow Coalition,” he said.

Zoning and Party Unity

Mr. Turner defended the party’s stance on zoning. He believes the South should finish its eight-year presidential term by 2027.

“As a nation, we must be concerned about our survival, our unity, what keeps us together and the way we play our politics,” he said.

He recalled the 2013 dispute over zoning. Atiku Abubakar and five PDP governors left the party due to disagreements over the North-South power rotation. Atiku later came back to contest the PDP presidential ticket in 2019 and challenged former President Muhammadu Buhari. He also ran in the 2023 presidential election.

“Don’t we have conscience? Why do we say one thing in the morning, another thing in the afternoon?” Mr. Turner asked.

He argued that choosing another PDP presidential candidate would not ensure that the person only serves one term.

“There is no guarantee of doing one term,” he said. “Everything is not politics.”

Mr. Turner acknowledged that some PDP candidates were missing from the lists released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Still, he insisted that all the party’s candidates met the legal requirements for nomination.

“I can assure you that all our candidates met the requirements of the law, and we follow due process in the nomination of our candidates,” he said.

He mentioned that the PDP’s national leadership and INEC are working to sort out the issue. He added that they will discuss it in a leadership meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

“There is nothing to worry about,” he said.

Mr. Turner also defended the PDP’s record in government. He called the 16 years the party spent in power the best period of governance in Nigeria.

“The 16 years of PDP is the best we have had,” he said.

He claimed that Mr. Tinubu approached the PDP for a partnership early in his administration and pointed to road projects in Abuja as an example of the advantages of cooperation between the parties.

“Who are the biggest beneficiaries of this partnership? Nigerian people,” he said.