Bayelsa PDP Coalition Begins Tinubu Campaign with Fasting, Prayers

The Peoples Democratic Party-led Rainbow Coalition in Bayelsa State has unveiled its campaign timetable for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, pledging to mobilise its grassroots support base to secure victory for him in the 2027 general elections.

The coalition said it would leverage the party’s grassroots appeal across the state’s 105 wards to mobilise voters for Tinubu, while urging the leadership of the All Progressives Congress not to regard it as a rival but as a partner in the President’s re-election bid.

The state PDP Publicity Secretary, Ikaebimo Mark, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, announcing the campaign schedule, signed by the coalition’s State Organising Secretary, T. Godspower.

According to the timetable, activities will begin with three days of fasting, prayers and a solemn assembly from November 5 to 7, followed by a campaign dedication and thanksgiving service on November 8.

The formal commencement of campaign activities is scheduled for November 9, with the inauguration of the Bayelsa State Rainbow Coalition Campaign Council, the commissioning of the coalition’s campaign secretariat and the unveiling of campaign buses donated by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

The timetable also provides for the distribution of campaign materials, including T-shirts, face caps and banners, across the local government areas between November 10 and 15.

The coalition will subsequently hold senatorial district campaign flag-offs and present its flags to candidates in Bayelsa Central, Bayelsa West and Bayelsa East between November 17 and 21.

The grand finale, featuring the formal adoption and endorsement of Tinubu as the presidential candidate of the Bayelsa PDP and other parties within the coalition, is scheduled for December 12.

Reacting to the timetable, the Bayelsa PDP leader, Chief Alabh Turnah, expressed confidence that the coalition would mobilise voters across the state for Tinubu’s re-election and the success of candidates associated with the alliance.

Turnah described Tinubu’s decision to integrate the Rainbow Coalition into his re-election campaign as a strategic political move that could strengthen the President’s electoral prospects across party lines.

He particularly praised the inclusion of Wike, the national leader and grand patron of the National Rainbow Coalition, in the presidential campaign structure, saying his political influence could help galvanise support for Tinubu in several states, including Bayelsa.

According to Turnah, the coalition would highlight the benefits of the Tinubu administration’s development agenda, particularly projects executed by the Niger Delta Development Commission in Bayelsa State, as part of its campaign to persuade voters to support the President.

He said, “President Bola Tinubu has demonstrated pragmatic leadership with the inclusion of our national leader and patron, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, in the national Presidential Campaign Council.

“His inclusion shows the abiding confidence of President Bola Tinubu in the capacity of the Rainbow Coalition to galvanise votes for him across party lines in the January 16 presidential election.”

Turnah said the Bayelsa chapter of the coalition would reciprocate the President’s confidence by activating its political structures across the state.

“On our part in Bayelsa, we are going to reciprocate President Bola Tinubu’s confidence by mobilising all our members across the 105 wards in the state to deliver massive votes for his re-election,” he said.

The PDP leader further claimed that his party retained the strongest grassroots appeal in the state, expressing confidence that its supporters would back Tinubu under the Rainbow Coalition platform.

“It is significant to state that there is no other party in Bayelsa that has the grassroots appeal of the PDP. Bayelsans are in love with the PDP, and they are ready to follow us in voting for President Tinubu under the Rainbow Coalition,” Turnah said.

He also warned that leaving the President’s re-election campaign entirely in the hands of the Bayelsa APC could jeopardise the ruling party’s electoral prospects in the state.

“We are aware that it is too risky to leave the re-election of President Tinubu in the hands of the APC leadership in the state because of its lack of grassroots appeal in several of our communities. This is one of the reasons we are taking the lead to kick-start the campaign for President Tinubu’s re-election,” he said.

Turnah, however, urged the state APC leadership to cooperate with the coalition rather than regard it as a political adversary.

“We want to appeal again to the APC leadership not to see us as an adversary but as a partner willing to work hand-in-hand to deliver President Bola Tinubu in Bayelsa State,” he said.

He added that the APC leadership should demonstrate its commitment to Tinubu’s re-election by working with the coalition to defeat opposition parties in the state.

The development signals increased political activity in Bayelsa ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the PDP-led coalition positioning itself as a mobilisation platform for Tinubu despite its affiliation with a party traditionally opposed to the APC.

However, the coalition’s claims about its grassroots strength and capacity to deliver votes for the President remain political assertions that will ultimately be tested at the polls.