A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party, Dan Ulasi, has opened up on the deepening crisis rocking the party, warning that internal contradictions and competing interests have plunged it into uncertainty as key factions battle for control.

Speaking on Arise Television, Ulasi described the PDP as a party in distress, with its leadership tussle now before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, even as rival camps continue to take parallel decisions, including the sale of nomination forms and claims to legitimacy.

He pointed to the growing influence of the Nyesom Wike-led bloc, which he said has further complicated the situation due to its open alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, raising questions about party loyalty and direction.

Beyond the PDP crisis, Ulasi also weighed in on emerging political alignments ahead of future elections, including ongoing consultations involving Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, describing a potential alliance as a “strong political process” that could reshape Nigeria’s political landscape.

He further revealed details of recent closed-door discussions with Obi, underscoring his growing support for alternative political platforms amid concerns that the PDP, in its current state, may struggle to present a credible challenge in forthcoming elections. Excerpts:

How do you feel about the PDP supporting an opposition presidential candidate despite claiming to remain PDP members, and does this situation contradict the party’s core values? Also, what was discussed during your meeting with Peter Obi, and does it involve Kwankwaso?

Well, I want to say that the PDP problem is one that is very, very touchy to me. I was just looking at the pictures in my house two days ago when we were forming PDP.

I was the one standing directly behind the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme and a couple of other people by my side. And Atiku and his group were on the other side. And that’s how PDP was formed.

This is why you can see I’m very, very reluctant. And I tell people, once I leave the PDP, I will just be a private consultant to anybody who comes to ask me questions. I will not join any other parties because I have never done that in the past.

But be that as it may, the situation now is that you never really can say, I told Wike the last time we met, that you cannot be the national leader of PDP and then be supporting President Ahmed Tinubu, that it is very unconstructive, it’s difficult to explain that because you cannot be a leader of a national party that has not done its primaries, nobody has emerged as a candidate. Supposing, like I said earlier, I or somebody else has a mind as a presidential candidate of PDP, what will he be doing as leader of the party? Will he attend our convention? Will he attend our rallies? Or will he be going to those of APC? So that is the problem Wike has to explain.

And when we meet in the next party meeting which might be one of the last I will attend. If I’m not satisfied with the explanations they will give, you will hear from me again because I cannot run a contradictory process.

So a whole Dan Ulasi will leave his anointed Wike? Is that why we are here, because Wike is not going to bulge.

So what did you discuss with Peter Obi?

What I’m saying is that your friends with somebody does not mean you can’t disagree. The day he took a decision to join the government of Ahmed Tinubu, I saw the letter, he explained why. And I had said this in one of your interviews, that the resultant effect of the anomaly of the convention we had in 2023 at Eagle Square, Wike would have emerged as the candidate of PDP.

But from what the then governor of Sokoto State did, after saying that he was running for the presidency, he came back again to address the convention that he was no more running and asked all Northern delegates to support Atiku Abubakar. That was when the crisis of PDP started. And that was how Wike went back to Port Harcourt and he decided to do it in his own way. So when you discuss whether somebody did this wrong or right, you will not tell him what to do. He has reached a stage in the political process of this country that he has an opinion.

I have an opinion. What happened at Eagle Square was bad. And people look at it and interpret it in different directions.

So, coming to Peter Obi, each time he comes to Enugu, he comes to me. I have known him since I was chairman of the National Republican Convention, when he ran for governorship in Anambra State. And since then, this year alone, he has been to my house about four times. And when I looked at the party, when I started talking, I said PDP has a problem.

And I don’t see how a candidate can stop Tinubu. And the process Wike is going through also will not help the system. So, I don’t see my party as federally constituted, challenging Tinubu with Wike as national leader.

These are part of the contradictions, which if I’m not properly informed and explained to, I will leave the party. And I want to be quoted accurately. Now, Peter Obi has been doing consultations all across this country.

Two days ago, he was in Enugu to address students of the Gold City University. And from there, he came to my house. He just gave me about 30 minutes’ notice that he was coming.

And I called a couple of my friends from top, south, east, and I said, we are in town, and they came. And we spent time with him, they asked him questions. I will tell you, if you listen to Peter Obi one-on-one, you will have hope for this country.

You will have tremendous hope that somebody has a concept of what he wants to do and how he will do it for the overall benefit of our people. So I confirm that he was in my house, and we had a brilliant discussion, as usual.

Given the internal divisions within ADC and multiple presidential contenders, what should Peter Obi do if he is not selected as the party’s candidate, accept a vice-presidential role or seek another platform?

So what I’m saying is that the Peter Obi-Kwankwaso effect is part of the gradual process we are building up across, you know, building bridges across this country.

Kwankwaso is not a name you throw out in the North. Peter Obi is not a name you throw out in the South. So if by the grace of God two of them will come together and one of them emerges, we hope.

We sincerely hope because it is an unwritten law, the South normally will have eight years.

The North has had eight years under President Muhammadu Buhari, so we have four more years to complete the South eight years. But it doesn’t stop anybody, the Constitution of Nigeria does not say so. But for the matter of confidence, process of confidence, so that people don’t have to fight between the North and the South. But as for Atiku Abubakar, he has the constitutional right to run, but people know that what he is doing is not proper. Once we zone things, it is for people to have a sense of belonging because if you don’t do so, one part might be so strong that others will never have the opportunity even to be a councillor. So what I’m saying is that the concept of Peter Obi and Kwankwaso is going to turn out to be one of the exciting, very strong political processes.

But if successful, and I use the word if because only God knows tomorrow. If successful, we push in a new period of development and process for this country. That is my hope.

And that is why we are backing Peter.

You did mention assuming he does not succeed. Only God knows, but if he does not succeed and asks me for an opinion, I would give an opinion to him. That stage has not come yet.

So we feel from what is happening in the country, he has more than a 60% chance of emerging as a candidate of ADC.

Why do you estimate a 60% chance, and do you think Tinubu’s growing support in the Southeast could reduce Peter Obi’s previous strong voting performance in the region?

Well, I will start answering this question by telling you something. The southeast, for once, has had the best set of governors since 1998. We have governors who are doing extremely well, and I repeat the word extremely very well, developmentally speaking.

If you come to Enugu, you won’t believe it, you’ll think it’s Michael Okpara who is the premier. If you go to Abia State, even more wonderful. Aba was abandoned for years.

It has been turned around. Go to Anambra right now. Soludo is building dual carriageways all over the place. So also in Ebonyi. So in terms of performance, yes.

But our people have a belief that southeast people are the only people who have not been privileged. Our contributions to the development of this country notwithstanding, I believe that if Peter Obi or any other person from the south becomes president of this country, first it will end the civil war, the concept of this civil war will be over.

People will now have a sense of belonging that they have been re-accepted into the Nigerian fold. That was why the civil war was fought, so that Igbos did not leave. So I believe that if Peter is given an opportunity with hard work and the grace of God, Nigeria will be proud of his performance.

And like he told me about two or three days ago, in two or three years, if you are not stealing, and you are not joining those who are plotting how to steal, you can change the course of history in your country, your world, or your local government, or your state. It is only actually if people see that leadership is genuine, honest, they will follow. We had leaders who did it.

Michael Okpara, Awolowo , Ahmadu Bello all did it.

We have had leaders who performed in this country. This mirage that is going on is a different development. We have had honest leaders in this country.

People with free education, good infrastructural development. Look at how versed the north is but go and see the small, small roads Ahmadu Bello was able to build, to connect various areas in the north. But people today are going from France to Dubai, that is our own development.

If you previously praised Tinubu as a strategic and capable leader, why do you now oppose his continuation in office and support Peter Obi instead?

The words you have used do not indicate performance. That you are a master strategist doesn’t make you a performer. I said that when Obasanjo was president of this country, every effort was made to take over the whole Southwest.

From whatever party, either AD or whatever name they answered then. We took over five states and couldn’t take over Lagos. There was nothing that was not done to remove Tinubu.

That was the reference I was making. That is not somebody you can wish away in a beer parlour strategy. That was the explanation.

The last interview I had here, that was what I meant. You have to sleep overnight to think of how to remove Tinubu. He is a very clever person, somebody who was governor for eight years.

I watched Buhari for eight years and came back. Even when, theoretically, Buhari didn’t want him to succeed him he was able to organise the whole Northern Governors and became a candidate and won the election.

Whether he is performing is what we will discuss during the campaign period. Whether he is a strategic person, you cannot deny that. What is strategic? Somebody who has a concept of how to develop an idea and pursue it to fruition.

Whether that concept is acceptable to society is a different kettle of fish to discuss. Nobody who is honest to himself will just wish Tinubu away. I normally give my enemy a lot more strength than they have so that I will be able to fight that battle. (Vanguard)

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