- Opposition party won’t die, say Damagum, Turaki
- Ex-chair hands over to new NWC
The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kabiru Taminu Turaki, has said the party’s leadership had not received any briefing on the exit of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke from the party.
He also said the party’s former governors who were nominated for ambassadorial jobs had not contacted the party’s leadership for its position.
Turaki spoke at the Bauchi Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, after receiving the handover notes from the former Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagun.
The national chairman claimed ignorance about the development, saying: “From the instructions we have given our people in the field, I know that Governor Adeleke’s name is one of the aspirants vying for the ticket. So, if he decides—either in person or via a representative at the centre of the primary—that he has withdrawn or refused to make himself available, then that will form part of the report we will receive.
“As far as we are concerned, even if what we saw on social media is true, as a Nigerian, Governor Adeleke, like any other person, has the constitutional right to freedom of association. He is free to move in; he is free to move out of any political party.
“For us, I have always said our power—our strength—is not in who are members of the National Assembly from our party. It is not in who are the governors of our party. It is in the people—and that is why the PDP is the people’s party. We are together with our people.
“If you go to states where some of the governors left, conduct a survey, and you will discover that most of the people did not go with those who defected. That is what we are counting on. Our people are with us intact. By the special grace of God, when election time comes, they will prove to Nigerians that the PDP is still in proper and complete shape.”
Commenting on the nomination of former governors of the party as ambassadors, Turaki said: “For the former governors who have been nominated, we are yet to receive any indication from them seeking permission or notifying us of the appointment. We wish them well.
“If they come to us, we will certainly consider it on its merit and decide on the appropriate response. But for now, I can confirm to you that we have not received any communication from them informing us that they have been nominated for ambassadorial positions.”
In his brief remarks after handing over the PDP leadership to Turaki, Damagun said: “This handover for us is part of our responsibility to address this NWC. We ought to have done it immediately after we came out of the National Convention, but we have been trying to compile our handover note, realising time. There is no better time than now. It is better late than never.
“Today, I am presenting my stewardship so that it will serve as a guide as you navigate the leadership of this party. I know it is coming at a time when we are bedevilled by many challenges. The beauty of the PDP is its ability to surmount all obstacles we have faced and to continue to overcome every challenge by doing what is right.
“The PDP is still the party to beat in this country. That is why you see that they (the ruling APC) are losing sleep. Every day, we cross one hurdle; they place another before us, we cross it and continue. All this happens by God’s blessing.
“The most important thing is that we are people of faith who believe God will always see us through. We are positive. In other words, God is a just God and does not support injustice. You may have temporary respite through your injustices, but when God’s justice descends on you, then you realise that He alone is absolute.”
Turaki said the party’s leadership is prepared to return it to Nigerians as the real owners.
He said the PDP remains the party to beat in the 2027 general election.
The PDP chairman also urged the Federal Government to take proactive steps to address the security challenges facing the country.
According to him, the ruling party has not lived up to the expectations of Nigerians.
Turaki said the PDP is the envy of some people, hence the determination of such people to destroy it.
But the chairman expressed the confidence that those plotting the downfall of the party would fail.
Addressing Damagum while taking over the leadership of the party from him, Turaki said: “I want to assure you that we have resolved that we are up to the task. I want to assure you that we will continue to take inspiration, to take guidance, to take advice, and to maintain a very critical interface with you.
“We plead with you and members of your administration that you may be out, but you are not gone. We will need you to support us. We will need you to be there for us. We will need you to give us that uncommon guidance because, as the saying goes, the woman who first becomes a mother will certainly have more broken hopes than the one who comes after.
“We believe that for the four years in which you managed the affairs of this great party of ours, you still have a lot to contribute towards taking this party to the highest level we aspire to reach.
“We are today at a crossroads, because we are in a situation where some believe that the PDP must be killed, the PDP must be destroyed, the PDP must be isolated because of the threat we pose to them. But the fact remains that in a democracy, you should live and let others live.
“We have promised since our assumption of office that we are taking this party back to the Nigerian people. This party is called the people’s party. If it is the people’s party, we must take it back to the people. We said there would be no impunity, no injustice. There will be a level-playing field, transparency, and, above all, fairness.”
Addressing reporters after the handover, the PDP chairman said the government has a lot to do in tackling the security challenges facing the country.
According to him, Nigerians are no longer safe anywhere in the country.
He said: “We have meticulously reviewed the security situation in this country and have come to the conclusion that the Federal Government of Nigeria has a lot to do in that respect. It is the minimum obligation of every government to provide safety for the lives and properties of its citizenry.
“We believe that, with the spate of kidnappings now taking place virtually all over this country, and with the spate of killings taking place all over this country, the APC-led Federal Government has really not lived up to the expectations of Nigerians.
“We, therefore, call on the Federal Government to brace up and, most especially, begin to consider a review of the security architecture in this country. We in the PDP believe that a situation where governors are called the chief security officers of their respective states, yet have no hand in controlling the operational activities of the military and security personnel who operate in their states, is something that needs to be overhauled.
“We believe the situation in this country is such that Nigerians are not safe on the streets; not safe in their places of work—be it in the office, on the farms, in the markets—and not safe in their homes. So, the situation where every citizen lives in perpetual fear, walks in perpetual fear, and does their business in perpetual fear is something that must change.
“We, therefore, call on the Federal Government to really brace up and ensure that Nigerians are protected wherever they are, and that their properties are protected wherever they are”.
Speaking about the state of the party, Turaki said: “We have reviewed the performance of this National Working Committee since I was sworn in in Ibadan, and we are satisfied that we are seriously working towards discharging the mandate that our constituents—the members of our party—have given us.
“This afternoon, we reviewed, confirmed and approved the congresses that were held in Osun State for the purpose of selecting ad hoc delegates. We have also reviewed and confirmed the processes of the gubernatorial primary election that is currently ongoing, and we are satisfied with the reports we are receiving from the field: that everything is being done in an orderly, transparent, fair and just manner, and that it is rancour-free. That is vintage PDP.
“I am sure that, before the end of the day, the gubernatorial candidate who will represent our party in the governorship election taking place in Osun early next year will be announced.
“We have also reviewed the arrangements being made for the conduct of the local government election in Anambra State, and we are satisfied with the report we received from the leadership of the party in Anambra State that they are well prepared for that election. We are hoping that we will sweep that election when it is conducted.
“We have also reviewed some of the cases filed against us, and those we have also filed—particularly the one that relates to the unlawful and illegal closure of our offices, the Legacy House and the Wadata Plaza. The brief we received from our lawyers is that we are on sound ground, and that very soon the law will take its course.
“More importantly, we have also begun looking at the handover notes that the outgoing executives gave to us. As I said, we are going to be very painstaking in our consideration of those notes, so that we leave no stone unturned in ensuring that there is no gap whatsoever in continuing with the good work the outgoing National Working Committee has done. For us in the PDP, it is a long continuum, and so there is not going to be any gap.
“We have also considered the issue of members of our party who were expelled by the National Convention in Ibadan. We have taken note of the fact that Nigerian law frowns on dual membership of political parties, and so we have sought to make it easy for them.
“Now that they are no longer members of our party, and now that the National Convention, which is the highest decision-making organ of our party, has expelled them, we have decided to issue them certificates of expulsion. So that, when they go to register with other political parties in Nigeria, they will show these certificates as proof that they are no longer members of the PDP, and so those parties will not accuse them of trying to belong to more than one political party.
“We have done this for Nigerians—particularly critical institutions involved in managing the affairs of political parties, especially INEC, and agencies managing security affairs in society: the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other government agencies—to know that these people are no longer members of our party. They have been expelled. They remain expelled. We have now certified their expulsion, and these certificates have been sent to them.
“Very soon, members of the society will be informed via proper disclaimers that any person henceforth who decides to do business with them—any or all of them—does so at his or her own risk. They are no longer members of the People’s Democratic Party. They have been expelled. You today are living witnesses to their certificates of expulsion.
“We hope that members of the PDP in Nigeria and the diaspora will know that the party has once again got rid of the cankerworms that have been afflicting and creating problems for us in our activities.
“We are now prepared to be saddled with the responsibility of performing our functions as the leading opposition party in Nigeria. We are going to provide a credible alternative to Nigerians. “We are going to provide credible leadership to Nigerians, by the special grace of God, from 2027.”
