Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has announced plans to reach out to former Kano State governor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, with the aim of persuading him to return to the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The PDP’s Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagun, disclosed this in an interview with the BBC, while responding to Kwankwaso’s recent statement that the PDP is “dead” and cannot achieve any significant success in the future.

He emphasised that the PDP is ready to welcome back all former members who left the party, including Senator Kwankwaso.

“People are entitled to their opinions, but I want to remind him of the past. When they left the PDP in 2015, if the party didn’t die back then, during a time they thought they had weakened it, I don’t see why anyone would claim it is dead now,” Damagun said.

He added, “Let’s not forget that the PDP remains the only party capable of winning elections if you exclude the ruling APC.”

Damagun also noted that Kwankwaso’s statement that the PDP was dead was unjust to himself because, despite his criticisms, Kwankwaso was able to win some political victories using the PDP platform in the past.

The acting chairman further boasted that the PDP, even after 26 years, remains strong under the same name and has governors and senators across all regions of the country,  arguing that even if four other parties were to merge, they still would not match the PDP’s strength.

Addressing Kwankwaso’s claims that he was marginalised in the PDP, leading him to dismiss any plans to work with the party for the 2027 elections, Damagun admitted that some of Kwankwaso’s grievances were valid.

He explained that during Kwankwaso’s initial move to leave the PDP, he (Damagun) then party’s deputy national chairman for the North, tried his best to reconcile the issues but was unsuccessful.

“There is no party better than the PDP for Kwankwaso. The party nurtured his political career and brought him to where he is today. We still hope he will return to work with us to rebuild our party and confront this oppressive government,” Damagun added.

The PDP chairman stated that God willing, the party would soon reach out to Kwankwaso despite knowing he is angry and that his aspirations may not be achievable in his current party.

“The PDP has always been a party that welcomes back any of its members who left in anger. Whenever they return, we give them opportunities just like everyone else,” Damagun added.