In a move that signals a major shift in Nigeria’s evolving political landscape, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Jigawa State has taken decisive steps toward joining a new opposition coalition aimed at confronting the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 elections.
Two weeks of behind-the-scenes political engineering culminated Wednesday in the formal integration of Local Government Committees across the state.
These committees, drawn from party stalwarts and grassroots organizers, have been mandated to descend to the ward and polling unit levels to lay the groundwork for what party insiders are calling a “seamless transition” into the opposition alliance.
The man spearheading the operation, Dr. Aminu Abdullahi Taura, Chairman of the PDP’s State Coordinating Committee for Coalition Integration, described the unfolding events not as an internal party affair but as part of a “wider national realignment”.
“This is not just about Jigawa. What we are doing here is a model for PDP states across the country. We are preparing our members to move strategically and in unison into a coalition that can truly challenge the APC,” Taura said in an exclusive media briefing.
Sources within the party revealed that former Governor Alhaji Sule Lamido, long considered a pillar of northern PDP politics, has been stationed in Abuja for days, engaging in high-level negotiations with other opposition figures.
His absence from his usual weekend base in Bamaina has been interpreted by many as a sign of the seriousness of the moment.
“Unlike him, he’s now spending his weekends in Abuja. He knows this is a defining moment,” Taura confirmed.
Amid questions about perceived absences of some figures, Dr. Taura was emphatic: “Nobody is missing. We are the PDP in Jigawa State. The Chairman is here, the Women Leader is here, the full exco is here. This is the opposition in Jigawa.”
The party’s strategic choice to avoid premature publicity while building structures from the ground up appears deliberate.
A high-level meeting last week quietly formed the state-level committee now guiding the rollout.
Today’s gathering marked a critical second phase: decentralizing the project to ensure every ward and polling unit is organized.
Though no formal announcements have been made about the name or structure of the incoming coalition, what is clear is that PDP in Jigawa—and possibly other northern states—is no longer waiting for internal reform alone.
It is mobilizing outward, seeking common cause with like minds for what insiders call “a movement, not just a merger.”
Dr. Taura’s final message was a rallying cry:
“Let PDP members sit together, consult, prepare. What we started here today is the beginning of a much bigger journey—one that leads to a united front capable of offering Nigerians a true alternative.”
