Buba Galadima, a chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, said many PDP political leaders from Northern Nigeria supported Dr. Alex Ekwueme’s presidential aspiration during the party’s 1999 candidate selection process before the election that eventually produced Olusegun Obasanjo instead.
According to a video posted on the official YouTube channel of Arise News on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, while reflecting on Nigeria’s political history, Galadima discussed the PDP presidential contest that preceded the country’s return to democratic rule.
He maintained that influential northern politicians backed Ekwueme during the selection process, arguing that their support demonstrated longstanding political cooperation across regional lines rather than the ethnic divisions often associated with Nigeria’s contemporary political landscape and discourse.
During the interview, he stated, “I want to say, without fear of contradiction, that all the political leaders of Northern Nigeria in the PDP supported the candidacy of Dr. Alex Ekwueme,” while recalling events surrounding the party’s presidential nomination process.
Galadima further argued that despite the support Ekwueme received from northern political leaders, other influential interests ultimately backed Olusegun Obasanjo, who emerged as the PDP presidential candidate before going on to win the national election in 1999.
He said the historical episode illustrated that political alignments in Nigeria had often extended beyond ethnic or regional considerations, adding that such experiences should inform current conversations about national unity and cooperation among political stakeholders across the country.
In his concluding remarks, Galadima urged Nigerians to reflect on the country’s political history objectively, maintaining that understanding past alliances could encourage broader national unity and help reduce misconceptions surrounding present-day political partnerships and electoral conversations nationwide…See_More
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