Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has blamed the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, and the party’s former national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, for what he described as the near-collapse of the opposition party.
Speaking on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Fayose said internal decisions taken by key party leaders ahead of the 2023 general election left the PDP deeply divided and weakened.
“Atiku destroyed the PDP, Tambuwal destroyed the PDP, and Ayu destroyed it. Politics is not fair; life itself is not balanced,” Fayose said.
Despite being a long-standing member of the PDP, the former governor defended his decision to support President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election, insisting that his stance was based on conviction rather than personal gain.
“Everybody stands where they will be able to say the truth to Nigerians. I am not contesting elections, and I have not asked anybody for favours,” he said.
Fayose added that he had been open about his political position from the outset, stressing that he neither concealed his support for Tinubu nor defected to the APC.
“Openly, I supported Asiwaju Tinubu in 2023, and I didn’t hide it. Till now, I am still there. I didn’t jump. I am not a member of the APC, and I will never be,” he stated.
The former governor also commented on the political tension in Rivers State, saying he did not anticipate the rift between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. He recalled advising restraint during Fubara’s inauguration.
“I was sitting on the high table the day Governor Fubara was sworn in, and I told Wike that I wanted to say one or two things to Fubara not to betray you,” Fayose said.
The PDP has been mired in internal crises since the 2022 presidential primaries, where Atiku emerged as the party’s flagbearer after Tambuwal stepped down in his favour. That decision, alongside Ayu’s refusal to resign as national chairman despite pressure from the G5 governors, further deepened divisions within the party.
Those disputes persisted through the 2023 general elections and have continued to shape the PDP’s internal deadlock, raising concerns about its unity and future as a major opposition force.
