Chief Achike Udenwa, former governor of Imo State has said that there’ll be no need for the formation of a coalition political party to defeat the All Progress Congress (APC) in 2027, except the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fails to address its internal crisis.
Udenwa, while speaking on Arise TV on Tuesday stated that the main opposition party will pull through the difficult period because it has an internal mechanism to address conflicts.
He expressed concern over the activities of fifth columnists who he said are being used to destabilise the party at the national level, even as he maintained that the APC has performed so poorly that Nigerians are looking for an alternative.
Speaking on the issue of coalition, he said, “Ideally the coalition is not the way to go. The only problem has been that PDP which is the leading opposition is in the present crisis. As soon as the crisis is over which I believe should be, the issue of coalition won’t arise. But even if PDP continues to be in the dilemma it finds itself in, today, I believe the coalition will work to some extent because right now, APC has performed so poorly that Nigerians are looking for an alternative. If that alternative is a coalition, so be it.
“In my mind though, I don’t believe that coalition is the best option. The best option is PDP rediscovering itself, being the leading opposition party, and other parties can come into it. They can join PDP or cooperate with PDP under the platform of the party. That is what I think should work ideally. It’s not just a coalition where people bring in their personal ambitions. But PDP will still find its way.
Speaking further, he said, “This party was formed in 1998. A lot of the people trying to drag the party down were not there when it was formed. They just joined, but we were there at that time. The party withstood all the problems that we had in the past and we’re going to withstand this present problem. I think we still have a chance. It’s not true that PDP is gone. When PDP was in government, look at our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Look at the level of our foreign loans, look at the prices in the market, the welfare of the average Nigerian. In whatever way you want to look at it, compare the statistics with the time of APC at the moment. Which one will Nigerians prefer? It’s too obvious that PDP is the choice of the people.
“Even in terms of membership at the grassroots level, you’ll find that PDP is everywhere. I do agree that there are a few fifth columnists who are being used to destabilise the party, maybe at the national level. I’m sure we’ll get over that. I’m sure the disciplinary committee will come out with something and the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party will be strong enough to take a decision, and discipline whoever is found wanting no matter how highly placed. I’m sure we still have that capacity.
On whether PDP will come out of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as speculated by some people, Udenwa said, “Definitely the patient would survive.”
