Plateau State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has been plunged into further confusion as two factions of the party have produced two separate governorship candidates for the 2027 general elections in the state.
The two factions backed the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, and Tanimu Turaki, conducted their primaries during the week and nominated two different candidates for the upcoming elections.
The Wike group which conducted its primary on Tuesday, nominated businessman and philanthropist, Kefas Ropshik, popularly known as Kefiano, as its candidate while the Turaki faction conducted its own primary and nominated a retired permanent secretary and former gubernatorial aspirant, Sunday Garba Biggs as its candidate.
While announcing Biggs as the authentic flag bearer of the PDP, the Turaki faction’s Publicity Secretary in the state, Felix Choji, said he was the only recognized aspirant and had passed the screening exercise conducted by the party’s committee in Abuja.
According to Choji, the screening outcome had automatically qualified Biggs as the PDP candidate in the state pending a formal affirmation scheduled for later this week.
“He is the only aspirant who submitted the expression-of-interest form. The party has cleared him and will formally affirm him as our gubernatorial candidate,” Choji said.
Earlier, the Wike-backed faction in a statement, had said that Ropshik was the only candidate recognized and accepted by the party and any other candidate produced by the opposing faction was not an acceptable aspirant.
The nomination of the two aspirants by the two factions of the same party has however, thrown party members into confusion and has raised the question as to which candidate will be recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the election.
The emergence of two governorship candidates from rival PDP factions has once again highlighted the lingering internal crisis within the party in the state, raising questions about reconciliation and legitimacy as preparations for the 2027 elections gather momentum.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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