Ahead of the 2019 presidential elections, the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has initiated discussion with notable political figures mainly from the northern part of the country in the All Progressives Congress to woo them back to the former ruling party.
The PDP is also using its presidential ticket, which has been zoned to the north as bait to lure back its former members.
Among those said to have been contact by some members of the National Working Committee of the PDP are the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki; a former Governor of Kano State, Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso and many others.
Apart from Saraki and Kwankwaso, it was also gathered that the PDP was looking at the direction of a former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido; Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogora as its possible presidential candidate in 2019.
Interestingly, both Saraki and Dogara were elected into their current positions in the National Assembly with the help of members of the PDP caucus in the Senate and the House.
Confirming the development, the PDP spokesman, Chief Olisa Metuh, said meetings between the leadership of the party and its former members indeed took place but refused to disclose the identities of those involved for obvious reasons.
Metuh, who also confirmed that he was partaking in such meetings, said the PDP was only considering those believed to have electoral values and had yet to constantly condemn the former ruling party and everything it stood for in the past.
Metuh said, “Yes, I can confirm that we have opened discussions with our former members who left us due to misunderstandings and were aggrieved. We are already having meetings with them and I can assure you that the discussions are going to yield positive results.
“But for the fact that some of these gentlemen are holding sensitive positions in the APC and in government, we won’t be able to mention their names.
“They are not happy with the Federal Government and some of its policies and they have decided to team up with us come 2019”.
According to Metuh, the PDP is confident that if it could bring back majority of its members who left the party for the APC, it would win the 2019 presidential election.
