Ayo Fayose, the former governor of Ekiti State and a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has expressed his skepticism regarding the proposed coalition of opposition political parties focused on unseating President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the upcoming 2027 elections.
During his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Fayose characterised the coalition discussions as unproductive, pointing out that no prominent Nigerian figures are currently involved in the talks.
“Their coalition is a dead horse ab initio. Tell me one positive person, well respected Nigerians that has given his voice in support of this coalition,” Fayose said on the programme.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who was PDP’s presidential candidate in 2023 and former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who recently decamped to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) from the APC are spearheading the coalition.
But the former Ekiti State governor believes that the coalition will fail because the governors of the PDP are not with Atiku, as they are fighting for their own political survival.
“If anybody is fighting out of issues with his party, he can resolve that with his party. The (PDP) governors’ actions and statement in Ibadan is to tell Atiku that we are not with you, we are going nowhere, we have our own identity.
“So, that coalition is just in the imagination of people trying to bring it to fruition. So, let me say to you, it’s a waste of time,” he said.
He said that in fact, most of the opposition governors prefer Tinubu for their survival to Atiku.
According to Fayose, something is fundamentally wrong with the PDP that needs to be fixed before the party could talk about strongly challenging the ruling party.
Fayose also vowed that Atiku will not receive his support if he decides to run in for president again in 2027.
“I publicly worked against Atiku, and I am saying for the second time, if Atiku comes again, I will work against him. It is time to learn our lesson,” Fayose said.
The former governor blamed the crisis rocking the PDP on the failure to keep to the zoning arrangement of the party by Atiku.
“After eight years of a Northerner, it is the turn of a Southerner. which could involve someone from the East, South West or South South.
“Those who gave or zoned power back to the North caused all these problems.”
“You don’t have to like a Nyesom Wike or a Peter Obi, but there should be an unwritten, respected gentleman’s understanding of powershift,” he said.
