- Gabriel Suswam criticised PDP’s leadership as deceitful and disorganised, urging for a shift to transparent, visionary leadership
- He condemned the trend of using personal wealth as the main qualification for presidential candidacy, advocating for grassroots support
- Suswam addressed the leadership dispute over the PDP National Secretary position, questioning the Supreme Court's lack of clarity on the matter
Former governor of Benue State and senator, Gabriel Suswam, has called on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to urgently prioritise visionary leadership and credible candidacy if it hopes to regain political traction ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Tuesday, April 15, Suswam criticised the current state of leadership within the PDP, describing it as “deceitful” and “disorganised,” and blamed it for the party’s diminishing influence nationwide.
“What we need in PDP, first and foremost, is transparent leadership at the national level, which will now translate into state leadership. We don’t have that. It’s all about deceit,” he stated.
While acknowledging the party's historically extensive national structure, Suswam lamented that weak internal governance and poor leadership have eroded public confidence and loyalty.
“This is a party that has structure all over the country. Because of lack of good leadership, that has diminished substantially,” he added.
Turning to the issue of candidate selection, Suswam condemned the increasing tendency for individuals to use personal wealth as the primary qualification for seeking the presidency.
“Because some people have some little change here and there, people have little money in their bank accounts, each and every one of them wants to run for president. That is what is happening,” he said, warning that financial strength alone should not dictate political ambition.
He urged aspirants to conduct honest self-assessments and seek grassroots support rather than relying on elite endorsements or financial clout.
“If I assess myself and I feel that I don’t have the support, I will not go. But people just don’t want to contest. They say, ‘well, it is because this one wants to contest, so we don’t want that.’ That is not the way party politics is run,” he remarked.
Suswam also addressed the ongoing leadership dispute surrounding the office of the PDP National Secretary. When asked who currently holds the position, he replied with sarcasm, “Ask the Supreme Court.”
He criticised the judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, for failing to offer clarity on the matter.
According to him, the Court of Appeal had previously recognised Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the substantive National Secretary, but the Supreme Court avoided a firm ruling, returning the matter to the party as an internal affair.
“We expected the Supreme Court to have been very expert, that is the last court in the land. If there’s confusion and the people move to court, and you throw the thing back to them, that’s a problem,” he said.
“The Supreme Court should have been more definite than they were. Because they were not, there’s more confusion.”
We remain strong, defectors will return, PDP forum predicts
Meanwhile, TheRadar reported that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Forum of Former Speakers has forecasted the return of several politicians who left the party in recent years to join other political platforms.
The forum reiterated that the PDP remains the most widely accepted, well-organised, and best-positioned party to tackle Nigeria's challenges.
