Pearse: Makinde Will Emerge As PDP Consensus Candidate In 2027, APC ‘Sinking Into Its Own Trap’
PDP chieftain Adetokunbo Pearse predicts 2027 victory, says party uniting behind consensus strategy with Makinde as presidential candidate, to defeat Tinubu.
PDP chieftain Adetokunbo Pearse predicts 2027 victory, says party uniting behind consensus strategy with Makinde as presidential candidate, to defeat Tinubu.
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse, has declared that Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde will emerge as the party’s presidential candidate by consensus ahead of the 2027 elections, insisting that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is “sinking into its own trap.”
Speaking during an interview on ARISE NEWS on Saturday, Pearse said: “Makinde will emerge as a presidential candidate by consensus… and he will defeat President Tinubu because he is going to be PDP—a man of integrity, a God-fearing man who has performed brilliantly in Oyo State.”
He added: “Sometimes, you know what the Bible says, you dig a pit and fall into it. The plan they have been planning for PDP to sink into a hole, APC is sinking into it, I guarantee you.”
Pearse revealed that the PDP is adopting a nationwide consensus strategy to avoid internal divisions and reduce campaign costs.
“We are going to have consensus candidates in every position, everywhere, in every state in Nigeria,” he said. “So we don’t spend the kind of money we normally spend, and we don’t have the kind of acrimonious primaries which have always been the bane of the PDP.”
He explained that internal party conflicts during primaries had historically weakened the PDP’s chances in general elections.
“We fight through the primaries, then we go to the election and we fall. So now, we are not having that anymore. All of this is going to work in our favour,” he said.
Pearse predicted a major political realignment ahead of 2027, framing the contest as a two-sided battle.
“There are going to be, most likely, two political parties in this election, because APC has contrived the whole thing now—that everybody is either APC or not APC,” he said. “And the not APC will come into PDP, and we will win this election.”
On the recent Supreme Court judgment invalidating the PDP’s November 2024 convention in Ibadan, Pearse insisted the party remains united and functional.
“The convention was not ratified by the Supreme Court, but the suspension and expulsion of those who had been holding us back have been affirmed,” he said. “So we don’t have any problems now with the leadership of the PDP.”
He clarified that the ruling only affected individuals elected at the convention, not the party itself.
“They were derecognised as chairman and secretary, but the party remains intact. We are not fragmented,” he said.
According to him, the Board of Trustees (BoT) has stepped in to fill the leadership gap.
“By the constitution of the party and the directives of the Supreme Court, our Board of Trustees takes over the leadership. There is no vacuum,” Pearse stated. “The BoT has already directed staff to return to work and will convene a NEC meeting to appoint a new National Working Committee.”
Pearse dismissed claims by factions aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, describing them as illegitimate.
“Anything that comes out of the Wike and Anyanwu group is null and void. They were suspended and expelled, and that has been affirmed,” he said. “They have no locus, no jurisdiction. The only PDP is the one led now by the Board of Trustees.”
He added: “If they did not have the support of the presidency and the power of the state behind them, nobody would be listening to them.”
Addressing the party’s performance in Lagos, Pearse acknowledged past failures but said reforms are underway.
“We learned a bitter lesson in 2023 with bringing in outsiders,” he said. “For the first time in a long time, we are going to field a bona fide member of the PDP—someone committed to the party and the people of Lagos.”
He described the departure of the party’s 2023 governorship candidate as beneficial.
“Jandor leaving the PDP is good riddance to bad rubbish. He created discontent within the party and had no support,”Pearse said.
Despite internal crises and legal setbacks, Pearse maintained that the PDP has emerged stronger.
“This pressure on us not to exist has made us more determined than ever before,” he said. “There is no confusion in the PDP. Our party is in order.”
Reaffirming confidence in the party’s direction, he concluded: “We will fill candidates, and we will win the 2027 election.”
