The leadership of the PDP is reportedly in covert discussions with their former members currently in the ruling party, APC towards ensuring a come back that will see them gather momentum in the 2019 polls.
Abandoned by its founding fathers, the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) is in talks with some of its former governors and other chieftains who defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC), the Nation reports.
The secret talks are part of the strategies to rebrand and reposition of the party ahead of the 2019 polls. Some of the negotiations took place abroad to avoid the prying eyes of security agencies on the realignment of political forces.
Among those being targeted by PDP are ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Senate President Bukola Saraki; ex-governors Rabiu Kwankwaso, Danjuma Goje, Aliyu Wammako, Governor Aminu Tambuwal, several APC Senators, members of the House of Representatives and others.
Sources in the know of the talks reveal that none of the leaders or members of the National Assembly has yet agreed to the overtures. It was gathered that the PDP leadership is desperate to have the ex-governors and defectors back in the fold and has resorted to tracking the movement of the targeted APC leaders abroad for further talks.
The party is said to be focusing on the North-East, North-West and North-Central even as it does not want to lose its grip on the South-South and South-East.
It is also said to be weighing the option of conceding the party’s presidential ticket to the North-East in 2019.
“We are determined to bring back our top leaders who defected to APC. We want to heal wounds, we are already reaching out to some of these ex-governors and leaders,” a member of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) said.