The Peoples Democratic Party in Bayelsa State has resolved to concentrate its political machinery on President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign in 2027, directing its National Assembly candidates to take full responsibility for their individual campaigns.
The decision followed a meeting of the party’s State Working Committee on Friday, amid the unfolding political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The party’s Publicity Secretary, Ikaebimo Mark, who announced the resolution in a statement on Friday, said the leadership would channel its efforts towards the statewide campaign for Tinubu under the National Rainbow Coalition arrangement.
He said the decision was taken in accordance with the directive of the party’s national leader, Nyesom Wike, issued in consultation with the National Working Committee of the PDP.
Mark explained that the National Assembly candidates had been instructed to assume complete control of their respective campaigns and intensify grassroots mobilisation through community-to-community engagements across the state.
“The candidates are advised to proceed independently with their campaigns, as most of them have already been doing,” he stated.
He, however, said the state leadership would remain available to provide guidance and support whenever any of the candidates requested assistance.
The resolution comes against the backdrop of the PDP’s political strategy in Bayelsa, where the party is pursuing the Rainbow Coalition arrangement to mobilise support for Tinubu’s second-term ambition.
In a related development, former Deputy Minority Whip of the 8th Senate and three-term senator representing Bayelsa Central, Senator Emmanuel Paulker, has reaffirmed his allegiance to the PDP, declaring that he has no intention of defecting to another political party.
Paulker made the declaration when members of the State Working Committee, led by the state chairman, Chief Alabh George Turnah, paid him a courtesy visit at his residence in Yenagoa.
The former senator, who represented Bayelsa Central from 2007 to 2019, said his loyalty to the opposition party had remained unbroken since its formation.
“Since 1998, I have not left the PDP for even a second. I will not leave this party,” he declared.
He pledged his continued support for the party’s rebuilding efforts, commending Turnah for his leadership and urging him to promote unity, reconciliation and inclusiveness among party stakeholders.
“My doors are open to you at all times. Hold firm; the party is in safe hands under your leadership, and I am with you all the way,” Paulker said.
He expressed confidence that the PDP would overcome its internal challenges, regain its political strength and return to power in Bayelsa State.
Paulker also urged party leaders and members to remain committed, observing that several prominent political figures in the state began their political careers under the PDP.
Responding, Turnah described the former senator as a founding pillar of the party in Bayelsa, noting that his experience, political wisdom and contributions to the development of the party remained invaluable to its present leadership.
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