The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has claimed that some opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are backing President Bola Tinubu’s bid for re-election in 2027.
Yilwatda made the claim on Tuesday in Abuja after meeting with Tinubu alongside the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Abdul’aziz Yari.
The meeting was held to brief the President on preparations for the APC’s campaign ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The APC chairman named the PDP, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Accord Party among opposition parties he claimed were supporting Tinubu’s re-election.
“If you look at what the party is doing now, the opposition parties are with us. All political parties that have defeated us in any election are with us; PDP is with us, APGA is with us, Accord is with us. 
“These are the only political parties that have defeated us, except Allied People’s Movement, and they are all with us in this campaign,” Yilwatda said.
The claim comes amid realignments and negotiations among Nigeria’s political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections, with several opposition figures and parties divided over whether to form a coalition against the APC or pursue separate political platforms.
However, the PDP has rejected the APC chairman’s claim, insisting that the party remains opposed to the Tinubu administration and its policies.
In a statement, the opposition party also dismissed reports attributed to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, suggesting that PDP candidates should dismantle their political structures and support Tinubu’s re-election.
The PDP described such reports as an attempt to misrepresent the position of its members, accusing some individuals within the opposition of working in the interest of the ruling APC.
“The true and principled members of the Peoples Democratic Party are not part of the shameless, self-serving support for the APC-led Federal Government and its destructive policies,” the party said.
The PDP maintained that the responsibility of opposition parties was to provide Nigerians with an alternative to the ruling government rather than support its continued stay in power.
It said any alliance involving opposition parties should be aimed at strengthening the opposition and challenging the APC at the polls.
“If at all opposition parties are to have an alliance, it will be amongst themselves, not with the governing party,” the PDP stated.
The party also criticised the proposed “rainbow coalition,” describing it as a threat to electoral democracy and warning that such an arrangement could weaken political competition ahead of the 2027 elections.
The PDP’s position contradicts the APC chairman’s assertion that some of the country’s major opposition parties are already backing Tinubu’s re-election campaign.
