For the first time in its 28 years history, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which ruled Nigeria for 16 unbroken years, would be a spectator in the country’s presidential contest. The party, which took over from the military in 1999 was in power until 2015, when it was defeated by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

After its defeat in the 2015 general election, the PDP assumed the role of the leading opposition and showed up strongly in the 2019 and 2023 general election, where it tried unsuccessfully to regain its place as the ruling party. Nonetheless, in the run-up to the 2027 general election, the opposition party is limping.

The pitiable state of the party is traceable to a battle of supremacy, which has been raging in the PDP since 2023. Recall that the loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike and Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, have been locked in a bitter contest over the control of party machinery at the national, zonal and state levels.

At the moment, the Abdulraham Mohamed led National Working Committee, which is backed by the Wike camp enjoys the recognition of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Tanimu Turaki led Interim National Working Committee (INWC), which is supported by Makinde loyalists, is still pursuing its case in court.

In the last three years, the fortunes of the opposition party has dwindled considerably, following the intractable crisis, which led to the defections of top members including governors. The PDP had won a total of 12 governorship seats, 36 Senate seats, and 102 House of Representatives seats in the last general election.

Nonetheless, at the last count all the 12 governors have dumped the PDP, with 9 defecting to the APC, two to the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and one to the Accord. In the National Assembly the number of PDP members have reduced to six in the Senate and eleven in the Green chamber. Consequently, the party has been displaced as the dominant opposition party the trio of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), African Democratic Congress (ADC) ad Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), raising questions on what the future holds for the party, which once boasted that it would rule the country for 60 years.

Apart from the elected office holders, some leaders of the opposition party, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Senate President David Mark, Senator Tunde Ogbeha amongst others have also resigned from the PDP. Mark, while announcing the decision of some of the party leaders to break ranks with the opposition party, in July 2025 had said that ” “the PDP, which is organic with the discipline, capacity, and history to lead and save Nigeria, is now a shadow of its old self.”

Nonetheless, against all odds, the PDP was able to field candidates for the January 16, 2027, Presidential and National Assembly elections, as well as the gubernatorial and states Houses of polls, scheduled for February 6, 2027, with former Cross River senator, Sandy Onor, emerging as the party’s presidential standard bearer for the next general election.

Ironically, Wike has cast his lot with the President Bola Tinubu for the 2027 polls. The FCT Minister, who recently floated a Rainbow Coalition as a bipartisan platform to drive the reelection of President Tinubu, and some candidates of the PDP across the country, says the opposition party does not stand a chance in the presidential contest.

“I have always said that the PDP can’t win the presidential election now, all we are doing is to win some sub-national seats and organize the party against 2031,” Wike stated in one of his media chats.

Pundits say with the prevailing situation in the party, the appearance of the PDP on the presidential ballot would just be to fulfil all righteousness.

Nonetheless, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Jungudo Mohammed is confident that the PDP will have a strong outing in the next year’s general election. The party spokesman told Daily Sun that though the opposition has gone through turbulence, it is set for the forthcoming polls.

According to him, “our level of preparation is in top gear. I can tell that from the body language of the ruling party, which is the APC, they know that we are there and we are out to give them a run for their money. You could see how jittery they were on the issue of Rainbow Coalition. Their complaints have nothing to do with the Rainbow coalition, but the fear that PDP has fielded credible candidates that will challenge them and even snatch away victory from them.”

On the flipside, the Turaki camp has entered into an alliance with the APM, where Makinde is the presidential candidate. A member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) from the South West, Chief Eddy Olafeso, told Daily Sun that the majority of PDP members have decided to go along with the APM for the 2027 polls, while they pursue the court case over the leadership of the party.

According to him, “We are not watching from the sideline. The real owners of the party, that is the majority of people, who distasted the complete, shameless destruction of a legacy party like that, they have decided to go along with APM. That is the reason why you see Seyi Makinde emerging from there.

“So, we are not on the sideline. We are moving on, we are all over the country, 774 the local government areas, all the polling areas, we are all rooting for Seyi Makinde. We are all PDP members. I am sure you are aware of the PDP /APM alliance.”

The critical question, however, is what does the future hold for the PDP? Can it survive beyond the 2027 general elections? Olafeso says despite PDP’s travails, the “The future is bright. We are still in court. We are still battling with our destiny, and the laws are on our side; morality, you know, rightness is on our side, and it is a matter of time, you know, we are going to overcome it.”

Analysts say the future of the PDP post 2027 would depend largely on the number of National Assembly and governorship seats the party is able to win in the forthcoming general election, as well as the overall performance of the other political parties in the contest.

Mohammed, while reiterating the PDP’s preparation for the 2027 contest, stated that “we are well prepared and we are not unaware of the fact that the performance of the party in 2027 will go a long way in determining how Nigerians will look at the PDP beyond 2027. We ourselves know that our success we will achieve will go a long way in positioning the party beyond 2027. We are very much on the ground. We are battle ready.”

Nonetheless, a school of thought says the PDP alliance with the ruling party may be an albatross on it, in the 2027 general election. Pundits are quick to point to the experience of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the 2003 general election. AD, which was one of the three political parties that participated in the 1999 election, had thrown its weight behind the PDP in the 2003 presidential election, while hoping to retain control of the states it won in the 1999 polls, but burnt its fingers in the process.

While AD succeeded in giving President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was the PDP presidential candidate massive support, it lost the South West states, with the exemption of Lagos State, in that contest. That was how the downward journey started for the AD, until it fused with other political groups to form the defunct Action Congress (AC).

While the opposition party is optimistic on the 2027 polls, analysts say the main challenge for the PDP, in next year’s contest, would not be to win governorship and legislative seats; but to regain its place as the dominant opposition party and from there rebuild itself for future contests. Whatever happens to the once dominant political party in the aftermath of the 2027 polls, will depend on its ability to meet this challenge. (The Sun)