Sandy Ojang Onor is a historian and politician from Cross River State who carries the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria’s governing party from 1999 to 2015, into the 2027 presidential election. He became the candidate as the party was split between rival factions, and he is little known nationally compared with the other leading contenders.1

Early life and education

Onor was born on 14 February 1966 in Ikom, Cross River State. He studied history at the University of Calabar, where he also took his doctorate.1

Academic career

He rose through the ranks of the university system and returned to the University of Calabar, where he became a full professor in 2019. His published work covers the Ejagham people, local government and the Nigerian civil war.1

Political career

Onor served as executive chairman of Etung Local Government Council and in the Cross River State government. He represented Cross River Central in the Senate from 2019 to 2023.1

The 2027 PDP ticket

After 2023 the PDP divided into factions. In May 2026 the faction led by Abdulrahman Mohammed and aligned with the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, adopted Onor as its consensus presidential candidate, with Umar Babangida as running mate.12 A rival faction associated with Kabiru Tanimu Turaki adopted former President Goodluck Jonathan and tried to submit his name to INEC, but the commission listed Onor as the PDP’s candidate.34

Positions

Onor argues that rural Nigeria has been neglected and links rural poverty to insecurity and unemployment. He calls for stronger funding for local governments. He has described the removal of the fuel subsidy as a courageous policy while criticising how it was implemented, and he presents the PDP as the main opposition platform, describing the ADC and NDC coalitions as alliances of competing ambitions.1

References

  1. 2027 presidential election: Meet Sandy Onor, scholar carrying PDP’s broken burden. Vanguard, 21 September 2026. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

  2. Sandy Onor emerges as PDP presidential candidate. Voice of Nigeria, May 2026. ↩

  3. PDP faction manually submits Jonathan’s name to INEC as presidential candidate. ThisDay, 1 August 2026. ↩

  4. INEC publishes final list of presidential candidates for 2027 election. Channels Television, 12 September 2026. ↩