THE Taraba State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, has dismissed insinuations in some quarters that the issue of who flies the party’s flag in the January 18, 2027 presidential election has not been resolved.

He stated that PDP faithful are not under compulsion to vote along party lines during the presidential election despite the fact that Senator Sandy Onor was selected as the consensus candidate of the party.

Recall that while former Benue State governor, Dr Samuel Ortom, acting as the PDP Presidential Primaries Collation Committee, said Onor emerged as the consensus choice of the party through voice votes, the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led splinter, announced former President Goodluck Jonathan, as its own flagbearer.

The Abdulrahman Mohammed-led National Working Committee of the party disclosed that the name of Senator Onor, who was the party’s gubernatorial candidate for Cross River State in 2023, hs been uploaded on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal for the 2027 poll.

But, in an exclusive interview with TheGuardian in Abuja, Wednesday, Senator Bwacha stated: “Well, let me tell you my candid opinion. As an individual, I have no problem supporting Tinubu. And I am going to explain to you why. Not that we don’t have a presidential candidate. We have, but the temper of the moment, the proclivity of the moment, defines a direction for us.

“(President Bola Ahmed) Tinubu’s commitment to address this insecurity has attracted me to him. No government, remember even when this insurrection started, if there had been an attempt to engage the US government and bring them directly into this, this matter wouldn’t have escalated.”

He disclosed that the voters in the entire North East, including Taraba State, is that Tinubu inherited a crisis that has escalated to a freezing point, such that those who were before him ended up recruiting the insurgents into our armed forces, into Police, Navy, Army, Civil Defence, whatever, they have been polluted and this is the challenge we have now.

“And, why I will continue to support Tinubu is because of his commitment to ensure that this matter is nipped in the bud. If Tinubu was not committed, he wouldn’t have invited the Americans to come and partner with the Nigerian Armed Forces,” he added.

Bwacha noted that after the Americans themselves realised that there are enemies from within in the Nigerian Armed Forces, stressing that since the Americans cherish the lives of their armed forces, they refused to be around with their personnel anyhow.

His words: “So, having provided a guide to our armed forces, they decided to leave. Ordinarily they would have still been around. That is why you see that they are doing what they are doing, they had to leave. But, there is genuine commitment on the part of President Tinubu. So coming to your question, Tinubu remains my candidate for this election.”

Reminded that Tinubu described his Presidency as an extension of the President Muhammadu Buahri administration, the PDP governorship faithful declared: “I am not working on what Tinubu is saying. I am working on what I am seeing, his commitment to security. Whether he is an extension of the Buhari administration, then that is for other people to judge.

“But, I know that he has brought the Americans to solve our problem. But that didn’t happen before him. So, if he is an extension of the Buhari administration, then he is doing something different from Buhari, which is commendable.”