A former member of the Oyo State House of Assembly and Special Assistant on Community Relations to Governor Seyi Makinde, Hon. Femi Josiah, has defended the alliance between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
He described it as a constitutional and strategic political arrangement aimed at securing electoral victory ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Josiah, who spoke earlier in the week during a live radio programme on Dominion FM monitored by Westernnirror.com.ng, said the decision by PDP-backed candidates to contest on the platform of APM was informed by legal realities, internal party disputes and the need to protect the party’s political interests.
According to him, the alliance between the PDP and APM has historical precedents in Nigeria’s political evolution, citing the alliance between the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) and the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) during the First Republic as well as the 1999 coalition between the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the All Peoples Party (APP).
“I am in PDP but we have an alliance with APM. The decision is constitutional, historical and viable for electoral victory,” he said.
Drawing parallels with the political crisis that followed the split between late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola in the defunct Action Group (AG), Josiah said alliances and political realignments have long shaped Nigeria’s democratic journey.
He also referenced the 1999 presidential election in which late Chief Olu Falae emerged as the joint candidate of the AD and APP alliance against the PDP candidate, former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“Our candidates are contesting on the platform of APM with the structural backing of Oyo PDP. Any poster or billboard you see carrying Governor Makinde and our candidates is where Oyo voters should cast their votes in 2027,” he stated.
Speaking on the lingering leadership crisis in the PDP, Josiah maintained that the crisis in the party had largely been resolved but admitted that legal challenges still existed.
“Yes, the crisis is over but there is still a challenge. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) window for cross-carpeting expired on Monday, May 11, while there is a Court of Appeal case coming up on the 15th,” he explained.
He said the party opted for the “safe corridor” of APM because of what he described as a growing trust deficit in the judiciary and concerns over compliance with court rulings.
“It would be risky for our candidates to preempt the ruling of the Appeal Court. That is why we took the safe corridor of APM for our candidates,” he added.
Josiah also defended the PDP’s adoption of a consensus arrangement in selecting candidates, insisting that the party acted within its constitutional powers.