List of Former PDP Governors Who May Support Tinubu in 2027

• As Nigeria maintains uninterrupted democratic rule, the country is approaching another general election
• Permutations continue on the 2027 general election, the eighth consecutive election since the return to democracy in 1999
• Prominent individuals who were governors under the administration of the main opposition party, the PDP, could back President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's reelection bid; Legit.ng lists them

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering Nigeria's elections, politics, and governance.

FCT, Abuja - President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is still the candidate to beat in 2027 should he be on the ballot again.

Since joining politics, Tinubu has never teamed up with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). But the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain might secure the backing of some politicians who led Nigerian states on the platform of the PDP.

Legit.ng highlights these individuals.

1) George Akume

Akume was governor of Benue state for two terms of four years each, between 1999 and 2007, on the platform of the PDP.

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He served as minister of special duties and inter-governmental affairs from 2019 to 2023, during the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. He was the senator representing Benue North-West senatorial district between 2007 and 2019. He was also the minority leader of the senate from June 2011 to June 2015. He served as the Governor of Benue state from May 1999 to May 2007.

Akume was re-elected Senator for Benue North-West in the April 2011 elections, running on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). He won another term in 2015 but lost to Senator Emmanuel Yisa Orker-Jev of the PDP in 2019.

Currently, Akume is the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF).

2) Chimaroke Nnamani

Nnamani was elected governor of Enugu state in the 1999 Enugu state gubernatorial election from 1999 to 2007 under the banner of the PDP. He subsequently served as an Enugu East Senatorial district senator from 2007 to 2011 and was re-elected in 2019.

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Nnamani is an open supporter of President Tinubu.

3) Samuel Ortom

Ortom was a minister of state trade and investments during the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan.

Ortom was elected governor of Benue state as a member of the APC in 2015, though later defecting to the PDP. He was re-elected as governor in 2019. Ortom's tenure ended in 2023.

In January 2024, Ortom, immediate-past governor of Benue state, said G5 will support President Tinubu if he seeks re-election in 2027.

Ortom spoke at an event organised by Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), in Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers state.

The G5 members are Wike; Ortom; Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, former governor of Enugu; Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo; and Okezie Ikpeazu, a former governor of Abia. They are all chieftains of the PDP who supported Wike and refused to back the presidential bid of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar during the 2023 election.

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Speaking on Tinubu, Ortom stated that Tinubu is a seasoned administrator and should be allowed to fix the country.

He said:

"Our leader, Nyesom Wike, has already made a declaration that in 2027, we are supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu."

4) Nyesom Wike

In November 2023, Wike vowed not to contest the 2027 presidential election against his principal, President Tinubu.

In a live television programme, Wike said he is a man of character.

Before that time, Wike, a member of the PDP, pledged to mobilise electoral support for President Tinubu in the next election, saying those who scored 2,000 in the 2023 elections would score next to nothing in 2027.

5) Ayodele Fayose

Fayose who governed Ekiti state as a PDP governor confirmed that he worked against his party, the PDP's candidate in the 2023 poll, Atiku. According to Fayose, he supported Tinubu.

Except there is a change of decision during the electioneering for 2027, the ex-Ekiti governor would support Tinubu.

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2027: Presidency plays down talks of northern opposition

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the presidency expressed its belief that by the time Nigerians approach the 2027 general election, citizens will know that President Tinubu will win his second term as the nation's leader.

This came as the president’s senior special assistant on media and publicity, Temitope Ajayi, reacted to speculations that Tinubu's loyalists are battling some opposition elements of northern extraction.

Source: Legit.ng