In a move that will have PDP circles buzzing, Senator Sandy Onor has been named the Peoples Democratic Party’s consensus presidential candidate for the 2027 election by the faction led by Abdulrahman Mohammed.
The PDP, a former ruling party founded on August 31, 1998, has been mired in a long crisis since the 2022 presidential primary — a headache for Nigeria’s main opposition. Channels TV reported the announcement was made by Samuel Ortom, chairman of the PDP presidential primaries collation committee, during the collation and presentation of results at Wadata Plaza on Tuesday, May 26.
Committee members said the exercise followed consultations and voice votes across the states. Onor emerged as the sole presidential aspirant after declaring his intention and collecting his forms earlier this month. Ortom said the committee had been engaging party members across the 36 states and the FCT before declaring a consensus, and he officially presented Senator Onor as the PDP’s consensus candidate.
INEC national commissioners Abdullahi Zuru and Prof. Rhoda Habor Gumus reportedly monitored the exercise. The PDP leadership handed Onor a certificate of return and the party flag; a viral X video shows him with the certificate.
Meanwhile, Oyo state PDP leaders in Ibadan, led by state chairman Prof. Rahman Akinoso, affirmed Onor’s candidacy by voice vote on May 26. The move, the party says, should strengthen internal consultations as 2027 approaches.
Former Ekiti governor Ayodele Fayose warned more PDP governors may leave and called the PDP’s tickets “ordinary tissue paper” lacking political value.
