Chief Bode George, former Deputy National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has declared that Nigerians are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to vote the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu out of power in 2027,Daily Trust reports.
Speaking during a news conference in Lagos to mark his 79th birthday, George called on PDP members and leaders to use the upcoming National Convention as a platform to rescue the party.
“As a loyal member who has stood with the PDP since its inception, I feel compelled to speak about the future of our party,” George said. “Although elders of the party will meet on November 28 in Abuja to discuss a way forward, I must openly acknowledge that all is not well. The PDP is veering off course, and this is happening at a time when the nation faces dire socio-economic challenges.”
George, a life member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), warned of an impending crisis within the party if critical issues are not urgently addressed. He accused certain members of undermining the party’s unity for personal gain, lamenting that some were secretly working with the APC ahead of the 2027 elections.
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“These double agents, with one leg in the PDP and the other in the APC, are dictating our party’s direction. Such behavior must be stopped immediately for the PDP to survive,” George said. “Our founding fathers would be turning in their graves to see how selfish interests have reduced this party to a shadow of its former self.”
He criticized the current state of the PDP, describing it as the worst he has seen since the party’s first elective convention in 1999. George emphasized that unity, fairness, and justice must be the bedrock of any decisions made at the upcoming National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja.
“To rescue Nigerians from the APC’s grip in 2027, the PDP must be united,” George stated. “Disloyalty and divisive tendencies must be addressed with urgency. If we allow ourselves to remain divided, we risk embarking on a self-destructive path.”
He also expressed concern about the mismanagement of the economy under the APC, saying, “With the suffering in the land, Nigerians are waiting for us to take action and kick APC out of Aso Rock in 2027. We cannot afford to fail.”
George called on party members, from the North to the South, to bury their differences and use the PDP’s 99th NEC meeting as a pivotal moment to rebuild the party.
Turning to the political crisis in Rivers State between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, now Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, George urged Wike to “step back” and called on party leaders to ensure Fubara is not treated as an outcast.
“The unity of this party is non-negotiable,” he said. “How we address these issues will determine the fate of the PDP in the months and years ahead.”
He also appealed to PDP elders, including Bamanga Tukur, Jim Nwobodo, Ahmadu Ali, and others, to come together for a meeting to chart a way forward before the NEC convenes.
“We must not fail our founding fathers,” George said. “The PDP remains Nigeria’s only true national party, and we must protect it.”
The event, held in Lagos, was attended by prominent PDP members, including Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party’s 2023 governorship candidate in Lagos.
