The Former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka has warned that the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) is facing a crisis of identity amid ongoing legal battles, while the All Progressives Congress, (APC) focuses on unity and incumbency as it prepares for the 2027 elections.
Chidoka said this while speaking with ARISE NEWS in an interview on Monday.
“What we have here is a system reset going on in the country. If you look at the APC primaries, the APC has indicated that they will have cohesion around incumbency. That is what they showed in their convention. They prioritized unity, incumbency, and stability.
“For the PDP, the party is in a crisis of identity because there are those who say they are one faction of the PDP, and they’ve gone to the Supreme Court. So there are legal issues arising,” he stated.
Chidoka noted that while the ruling party shows economic stability, the opposition struggles to offer a clear alternative for ordinary Nigerians.
“If you look at what I was explaining, private companies in the stock market—about ten of them—made more profit than what the federal government collected as non-oil revenue. That’s how far the Nigerian economy has gone from massive losses in 2024, after the Naira devaluation, to now high profits coming in.
“But the challenge is that this has not translated to the masses. So while corporate Nigeria is growing, the masses are suffering. The effect of these devaluations, the high cost of fuel, and low income wages—these have not translated. So what is at stake is that the business community and the people managing the economy are now coalescing around stability.
“The opposition has a challenge to describe to Nigerians what an alternative would look like. I’m yet to see that conversation,” he said.
Speaking on Nigeria’s democracy and the consensus model that has been adopted, Chidoka warned that prioritising consensus risks weakening party accountability and voter choice.
“The party is indicating that they will prioritize consensus over internal democracy. Regarding the PDP, I don’t know if they have any opposition within the party. They too are saying they will have a candidate, so they’re prioritizing control of that party structure. That takes democracy two steps backwards in terms of internal contestation,” he warned.
Chidoka emphasized that the focus should be on Nigeria’s pressing security challenges rather than internal party recognitions.
“Like I said, I don’t know if this is important in the grand scheme of things—who INEC recognizes or who it doesn’t. When the Supreme Court takes a decision, I believe INEC will amend their position.
“What is important is that the country is facing serious security challenges. We’re talking about a country where the alternative to what we have today—who is presenting an alternative worldview?”, he questioned.
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