Former Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, has claimed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) can no longer be regarded as a viable opposition, alleging it has been politically compromised by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Melaye — who recently defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) — accused the APC of orchestrating the PDP’s decline and undermining its ability to function as an effective opposition force.
“PDP has been purchased by APC. PDP is a parastatal of the APC. PDP is a department of the APC. In fact, they take dates for NEC meetings and NWC schedules from the Villa,” Melaye alleged.
He questioned the political posture of PDP governors, suggesting they no longer act in the spirit of opposition.
“Look at the number of governors in PDP today. Are these governors acting like opposition governors? Are they playing opposition roles as governors? Those who remain in the PDP are simply holding fort for the APC,” he said.
Melaye cited recent comments from former Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, as an example of the party’s weakened stance.
“With due respect to my uncle, Babangida Aliyu, you heard him two days ago; he said if we tolerated Buhari for eight years, we should tolerate Tinubu for another four years. Is that the voice of an opposition person?”
On his 2027 election plans, Melaye refrained from stating whether he would support former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, but stressed that the ADC intends to present a candidate capable of defeating President Bola Tinubu.
“Those of us in ADC need to create a comfortable, stable platform. And I believe that platform will produce a candidate that will unseat President Tinubu in 2027,” he said.
Melaye also painted a grim picture of Nigeria’s current economic situation, criticising the Tinubu administration over worsening hunger and poverty.
“We are in a precarious situation in this country, like we have never been. Hunger in this country is unprecedented; people are dying of malnutrition in rural communities. People are beginning to visit garbage centres to look for crumbs and food,” he lamented.
He added that the severity of hardship is evident at grassroots levels:
“Take a trip to your village and just announce that you want to share bags of rice. If you are not careful, there will be casualties from the scramble for just one or two tins of rice. That’s the situation we are in.”
The former lawmaker concluded by reiterating his call for stronger opposition unity, insisting that without a credible alternative, Nigerians risk further hardship.
