The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) internal leadership dispute took a significant turn as National Chairman Kabiru Turaki received overwhelming backing from state chairmen during a high-level engagement aimed at reinforcing control and clarifying authority within the party.
The gathering formed part of Turaki’s wider effort to strengthen his position following his emergence at the Ibadan Convention, with party leaders emphasizing cohesion and strategic direction ahead of upcoming political activities.
Turaki urged the chairmen to bring forward ideas capable of repositioning the party and countering actions by members aligned with Nyesom Wike and Senator Samuel Anyanwu, who recently announced a caretaker committee.
The session, held on Wednesday at the Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, drew at least twenty-nine state chairmen in person, led by Edo chairman Tony Aziegbemi, while two others sent apologies.
Speaking during the event, Turaki dismissed claims of a split, pointing to the presence of the chairmen as evidence of unity. He said, “If all the state chairmen are here with us, then who is it that is not with us? If all the state chairmen are supporting us, then who, sincerely speaking, can be fighting us?”
He noted that those presenting themselves as an alternative leadership structure “are not members of our party,” insisting that the legitimacy and continuity of the National Working Committee (NWC) remain unquestioned.
The chairman highlighted the governors’ backing of the Ibadan convention, where the current NWC was elected for a four-year term, and criticized the Wike-supported group for unveiling a sixty-day caretaker arrangement despite the transition from Umar Damagum to the new leadership being completed earlier in December.
Turaki assured the chairmen that the NWC intends to return the party to its grassroots base while positioning it as a credible national force. He added, “Today, PDP is on a new mission, and this new mission is to reclaim Nigeria from the inept APC leadership.”
He argued that the country had regressed under the ruling party, stating that Nigerians “are living witnesses that the achievements, the progress that had been made in the sixteen PDP glorious years have either been destroyed, shattered, or reversed.”
Expressing confidence about the party’s future, Turaki told members, “We will take over power by the special grace of God in 2027. And thereafter, we will begin the journey to taking Nigeria and Nigerians to the promised land.”
