A former presidential candidate and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has declared support for the possible return of former President Goodluck Jonathan, ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and former Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, to the PDP’s presidential primary race.
Hashim, in a statement on Thursday in Kaduna through his media aide, Hassan Mahmoud, described the potential interest of the trio in the PDP’s 2027 ticket as a welcome development that could rekindle the party’s founding ideals of inclusiveness and democratic contest.
“The more, the merrier,” Hashim said, adding that “a robust and competitive primary will not divide the PDP, rather, it will reassert its credentials as the true party of democracy in Nigeria.”
He recalled the founding vision of the party in 1998, stressing that the PDP was not created as an exclusive political club but a “national platform and a big umbrella” accommodating all shades of opinion, ideology, and aspiration.
Hashim said, “From the beginning, the PDP was designed to be a home for all. I remember vividly, as secretary of the publicity subcommittee, chaired by the late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, how a journalist first proposed the umbrella symbol which became iconic to the party.”
He paid glowing tribute to political heavyweights who shaped the PDP’s early trajectory, including the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Chief Solomon Lar, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Chief Sunday Awoniyi, Chief Melford Okilo, Prof. Jubril Aminu, and Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, among others.
“We had giants of Nigerian politics under one roof. Many of them had what it took to lead Nigeria, yet some stepped down and others went through a credible, competitive process, such as the Jos convention of 1999 that eventually produced Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as the party’s candidate,” he said.
According to him, the PDP’s formative strength came not from “backdoor consensus or gatekeeping politics,” but from its firm commitment to internal democracy and open contest.
He particularly hailed the leadership style of Chief Solomon Daushep Lar, the PDP’s first interim national chairman, for keeping the party’s door open to a broad range of political actors during its early years.
“Those who feared competition quietly exited the founding process. But we stayed the course, and Nigeria benefited from it,” he stated.
Hashim, who was a presidential candidate in the 2019 elections, argued that for the PDP to reclaim national relevance, it must rediscover and recommit to its foundational principles of fairness, competition, and unity.
He noted that the prospect of Jonathan, Atiku, Obi or any other aspirant contesting the 2027 ticket should not be viewed with suspicion but embraced as a healthy sign of political vibrancy.
“If Jonathan, Atiku, Obi and others wish to contest, they should be welcomed. Let the best ideas and visions emerge through fair competition. That is how to build a party of the future,” he declared.
Hashim’s remarks appear to come at a time of growing internal debate within the PDP over zoning, leadership succession, and possible alliances ahead of the 2027 polls.
While none of the three men mentioned—Jonathan, Atiku, or Obi—has publicly declared a formal return to the PDP or interest in the presidential race, speculations have continued to mount over possible comebacks, defections, or political realignments within the opposition.
