National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has claimed that some opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are backing President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Yilwatda made the claim on Tuesday in Abuja after meeting with Tinubu alongside the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Abdul’aziz Yari.
The meeting was held to brief the President on preparations for the APC’s presidential campaign ahead of the 2027 elections.
The APC chairman listed the PDP, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Accord Party as opposition parties supporting Tinubu’s second-term ambition.
“If you look at what the party is doing now, the opposition parties are with us. All political parties that have defeated us in any election are with us; PDP is with us, APGA is with us, Accord is with us.
“These are the only political parties that have defeated us, except Allied People’s Movement, and they are all with us in this campaign,” Yilwatda said.
However, the PDP has rejected claims that it is supporting Tinubu’s re-election, insisting that it remains opposed to the APC-led Federal Government and its policies.
In a statement, the opposition party dismissed reports attributed to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, suggesting that PDP candidates should dismantle their political structures and support Tinubu’s second-term bid.
The PDP described the reported call as an attempt to misrepresent the position of its members, accusing some individuals within the opposition of working in the interest of the ruling party.
“The true and principled members of the Peoples Democratic Party are not part of the shameless, self-serving support for the APC-led Federal Government and its destructive policies,” the statement said.
The party argued that the opposition’s primary responsibility was to offer Nigerians an alternative to the ruling government rather than support its continued stay in power.
It added that any proposed alliance among opposition parties should focus on strengthening the opposition rather than collaborating with the APC.
“If at all opposition parties are to have an alliance, it will be amongst themselves, not with the governing party,” the PDP stated.
The party also criticised the proposed “rainbow coalition”, describing it as a threat to electoral democracy and warning that such an arrangement could undermine political competition.
The PDP urged its members to remain committed to the party while awaiting the outcome of its case at the Court of Appeal, which it said had already been heard.
