Our Reporter
Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is “dead and beyond revival”, as he predicted an imminent exodus of more governors from the troubled opposition platform.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme on Wednesday, Fayose absolved President Bola Tinubu of any involvement in the widening cracks within the PDP, insisting that the party’s woes were entirely self-inflicted.
“President Tinubu should not be blamed for PDP’s problems. The PDP is sick and remains perpetually sick without a cure in view. Those who killed the party know themselves,” Fayose said.
The outspoken former governor dismissed claims that the Presidency had coerced opposition governors into defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), describing the recent exits of Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri and Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah as products of “personal political ambitions”, not presidential influence.
Fayose, who remains a card-carrying member of the PDP, revealed that three more governors are on the verge of leaving the party, which would leave it with just five governors nationwide.
“Let me tell you, there are three more governors that will leave soon. There will be five remaining, and even among those, one will struggle to get the ticket. They all know that the ticket is an ordinary tissue paper,” he stated.
The former governor attributed the party’s decline to persistent internal power struggles and selfish leadership, accusing some party leaders of prioritising control over collective survival.
“They are largely killing the party because they want to control it. This is what happened in 2023,” he added.
Once Nigeria’s dominant political force, the PDP has struggled to recover from its electoral defeat in 2015 and subsequent losses in the 2019 and 2023 general elections. Repeated internal crises, leadership tussles, and regional factionalism have further deepened its troubles.
Fayose’s remarks come at a time when speculation is rife about further defections among opposition ranks, as some governors and lawmakers reportedly weigh their political futures ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Despite his long-standing association with the PDP, Fayose made it clear that he would not participate in any effort to revive what he described as a “terminally ill party”, insisting that the rot within predates recent defections.
His comments underscore the mounting uncertainty within Nigeria’s main opposition party, which is yet to chart a clear path toward rebuilding its fractured structure or regaining public confidence.