Ganduje Describes PDP as ‘Defunct Party’, Urges Nigerians to Embrace National Unity

Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, has described the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a “defunct party” while reflecting on Nigeria’s political landscape and the importance of national unity.

Ganduje made the remark on Wednesday during the Annual Conference of the Forum of Former Deputy Governors of Nigeria in Abuja, where he referred to former Delta State Governor and ex-PDP vice-presidential candidate Ifeanyi Okowa as his brother.

Introducing Okowa, Ganduje said, “My big brother, the former governor of Delta State and a former vice presidential candidate of the defunct party, PDP.”

The comment came as Ganduje discussed nation-building, national identity and the need for Nigerians to regard the country’s diversity as an asset rather than a source of division.

He questioned whether Nigerians genuinely believed in the country and its potential, warning that the way the nation managed its diversity risked turning it into a liability.

“On the issue of nation building, we have to believe in our nation, do we actually believe in our nation Nigeria? Do we actually believe that our diversity is an asset and not a liability? The way we are moving our diversity is becoming a liability,” he said.

Ganduje also offered his interpretation of British colonial rule, arguing that the colonial administration’s primary objective in bringing Nigeria’s diverse communities together was to secure raw materials for industrial development in Britain rather than to build a united Nigerian nation.

According to him, Nigeria’s resources were used to support industrial growth in the colonial power, while the country’s political unification served British economic interests.

He, however, commended Nigeria’s First Republic politicians for developing a sense of nationalism that helped drive the struggle for independence and the formation of political parties.

“We need to thank our First Republic politicians who developed a sense of nationalism in order to get independence, form political parties, and they succeeded in getting our independence,” Ganduje said.

The former Kano State governor also expressed appreciation that Nigeria gained independence without the kind of armed struggle experienced by some other countries.

“We are so lucky that we didn’t carry arms like other nations to get independence,” he added.

Ganduje’s remarks combined criticism of the PDP with a broader appeal for national cohesion, patriotism and a renewed commitment to building a country in which ethnic and regional diversity contributes to national development.