A former lawmaker representing Kogi West senatorial district, Senator Dino Melaye, has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party is “dead and buried,” alleging that the party is now under the control of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Speaking in an interview on Arise Television, Melaye dismissed any hopes of revival for the opposition party, saying it no longer operates independently.

“Apart from our Lord Jesus Christ, no dead can rise again. PDP is dead and buried. The party was sold, and I’m not sure they even got the payment receipt. What you have now is an APC-controlled PDP,” he said.

Melaye, who previously contested under the PDP platform, accused unnamed agents of the APC of infiltrating and steering the affairs of the party from the presidential villa.

“It is a party that has been controlled from the villa. I have said before that as far as we are concerned, it is the agents of the APC that control the PDP,” he added.

The former senator, however, stated that he is no longer a member of the PDP and has now pitched his tent with the African Democratic Congress which he described as the platform capable of defeating President Bola Tinubu’s APC government in the next general elections.

“I’m a proud member of the ADC, and by the grace of God, that is the party that will unseat Tinubu and send APC out of the villa come May 29, 2027,” Melaye stated.

While steering the discussion away from the PDP’s internal issues, Melaye urged Nigerians to focus on pressing national challenges.

“There are critical issues bedevilling this country: hunger, malnutrition, misgovernance, and maladministration. Those are the issues I think we should discuss, not a dead party,” he said.

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Supporters of former President, Goodluck Jonathan, ahead of the 2027 presidential election, have begun reaching out to opposition heavyweights, including Labour Party’s Peter Obi, in a bid to form a grand coalition strong enough to challenge the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu.

With the APC hierarchy already backing Tinubu for re-election, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) zoning its presidential ticket to the South, the 2027 contest is shaping into an all-Southern affair.

Party insiders who spoke with Vanguard said top PDP leaders, particularly from the North, have been mounting pressure on Jonathan to throw his hat into the ring.

Before Jonathan’s name resurfaced, several PDP bigwigs had also courted Obi to return to the fold after his 2022 defection to the LP, where he emerged as presidential flagbearer.

Obi, who has remained one of the fiercest critics of the Tinubu administration, is also backing the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition, which parades several prominent figures, including former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, former Senate President, David Mark, former Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola and former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

Asked repeatedly whether he would rejoin the PDP or align with the ADC, Obi maintained that he was committed to “any move that will save the country from the APC.”

Other Southern politicians reportedly eyeing a face-off with Tinubu include Amaechi and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde.

Sources told Vanguard on Sunday that Jonathan’s camp had begun exploratory contacts with key aspirants, including Obi, urging him to step aside in support of the former president.

Speculations swirled last night that Jonathan had already met Obi privately, but aides close to the former Anambra governor dismissed the claim.

One source insisted, “It is true that Jonathan’s people want Obi to step down for him, but Jonathan himself is yet to meet Obi. I can assure you that Obi is committed to his cause of rescuing Nigeria.”

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The 2023 Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has disclosed that he received the approval of LP’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, before officially joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Rhodes-Vivour emphasized that Lagos cannot be “pocketed by one man.”

When asked if Obi endorsed his move to ADC, he replied:

“Yes, certainly. A representative of his was at the declaration on Saturday. Peter Obi and I are communicating, we are aligned. There is no step I am taking that he is not aware of. We have all agreed that the only way for the opposition to succeed in 2027 is through a coalition. Regardless of where anybody may be at this time, we are working towards that aim.”

On whether he could dismantle President Bola Tinubu’s long-standing political structure in Lagos, Rhodes-Vivour said:

“I don’t believe that Lagos belongs to one man. That is why my movement is called Our Lagos. Lagos is our shared responsibility; it is our home. The idea that Lagos belongs to one man is something I completely reject. The idea that our commonwealth can be commandeered by one man for over two decades is something I stand against.

“It is not about me; it is about the people of Lagos and Nigeria. Look at Alimosho Local Government — the inner roads are terrible. Instead of fixing them, local government chairmen go around with policemen to prevent the opposition from holding gatherings on Lion Field.

“If they provided good governance, they wouldn’t be worried about the opposition or resorting to violence and intimidation. Violence is the last refuge of politicians.”

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