The newly-elected National Chairman of the People?s Democratic Party (PDP), Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), has said the party is open to a broad opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 elections, saying all options that strengthen democracy are on the table.

Turaki said the PDP would prioritise rescuing Nigeria from its current challenges and would adopt whichever political strategy its members and the wider public consider most credible.

He spoke in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust yesterday after he was elected with over 1,516 delegate votes at the party?s national elective convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The former minister said he does not believe Nigeria will slip into a one-party system, but warned that ?democracy is under threat.?

He added that the PDP under his leadership would work ?with other political parties under IPAC, with civil society organisations, with the international community, and with the fourth estate of the realm, so we can ensure democracy is safeguarded.?

Asked whether the PDP would collaborate with other opposition parties to present a common front against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu?s re-election bid in 2027, Turaki said the party would be open to all options.

?I do not know what will happen. But I assure you we will be open to all options, provided they strengthen democracy in Nigeria and are acceptable to our people.

?What we want is for Nigerians to be rescued from the present situation. So whatever option is available and acceptable will be considered. The decision will be taken when we get there.?

Reacting to Turaki?s position, the National Publicity Secretary of the coalition-led African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, said the party would be willing to work with the PDP only if the latter agrees that ?it will not be business as usual.?

Speaking to Daily Trust, Abdullahi said: ?We?ll be willing to work with any political party in Nigeria that is willing to subscribe to the philosophy of the ADC. We said we are not just interested in winning power for winning?s sake. We are more interested in resetting politics in Nigeria.

?If the purpose for working together is just to win power, then there is no point. That?s why we are saying that we are willing to work with them provided they are willing to abide by the principles that we have set for ourselves as a coalition.

?So, we absolutely believe that all opposition parties need to come together to defeat and remove this government that has threatened everything that we know to be good about our country. So, we are willing to work with them if they are willing to subscribe to our principles, which is that it is not going to be business as usual and that politics must be to the service of the people.?

The All Progressives Congress (APC) said it is unbothered by any planned coalition, insisting no reasonable Nigerian would want to return to what it called the ?years of PDP misrule.?

Speaking to Daily Trust, Bala Ibrahim, the APC?s Director of Publicity, said, ?The APC is wishing them good luck, who is also part of them, I suppose (in veil reference to former President Goodluck Jonathan). Just that we do not know which of them. But we are not worried by whatever shenanigans they are coming up with.

?As long as the game is going to be played by the books, we know Nigerians will not want to go back the way of the PDP. Nigerians know what they went through under the misrule of the PDP. So, no matter what they say, no responsible Nigeria will go to the poll and vote for PDP again. Nigeria has been rescued from their misrule and Nigeria will not go back to that lane. So, we are not worried but we wish them good luck.?

How Turaki emerged as PDP chairman

Turaki emerged as the new PDP chairman in the early hours of Sunday after the party?s leadership, backed by five of its seven governors, aligned with the Ambassador Umar Damagum-led National Working Committee to proceed with the convention in Ibadan despite conflicting court orders?two stopping the exercise and one allowing it to proceed.

Two Federal High Court judges in Abuja had restrained the party from holding the convention, but a state high court in Ibadan granted permission. The Damagum faction said the latter ruling aligned with a previous Supreme Court decision that internal party affairs should not be truncated by judicial interference.

His election followed the withdrawal of Senator Lado Danmarke, the 2023 PDP governorship candidate in Katsina State, who was the only other cleared aspirant. Former Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido had earlier secured one of the court orders stopping the convention, arguing he was denied the opportunity to purchase the nomination form.

Despite withdrawing, Danmarke still polled 275 votes.

The positions of youth leader and deputy national legal adviser were stepped down, while 17 other positions were unopposed and returned elected. Delegates from 32 of the 36 states attended.

The Turaki-led NWC will be inaugurated on December 9, after the expiration of the Damagum-led tenure.

In August, the PDP?s National Executive Committee zoned its presidential ticket to the South and, in line with party tradition, zoned the national chairmanship to the North.

During series of meetings in October, some stakeholders led by the governors from region adopted Turaki as their consensus candidate. Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed; Plateau Governor Caleb Mutfwang; Adamawa Governor Ahmadu Fintiri; Zamfara Governor Dauda Lawal; and Ambassador Damagum were among those who attended.

Wike, Fayose, Anyanwu, others? expulsion dominates convention

The major flashpoint of the convention was the expulsion of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike; former Ekiti State governor Ayo Fayose; the party?s national secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu; and several others over alleged anti-party activities.

Others expelled were Umar Bature, Adeyemi Ajibade, Mohammed Abdulrahman, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, Austine Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah, George Turner and Chief Dan Orbih.

Shortly after, Governors Ahmadu Fintiri and Caleb Mutfwang, who attended the convention, publicly dissociated themselves from the expulsions.

Convention a jamboree ? Anyanwu

Anyanwu insisted he remained the national secretary, describing the Ibadan event as a ?jamboree.?

In an interview with Daily Trust, he said party members and stakeholders would soon meet to decide whether there should be a national convention or a caretaker arrangement before their tenure expires in December.

He argued that only former chairman Umar Damagum had effectively removed himself by ?subjecting himself to an illegal convention.?

He said: ?We are going to talk to our people, meet with them, discuss, members of the PDP, stakeholders at the appropriate time and look at what the party is going to decide going forward. Whether we are going to have a convention or a caretaker committee, I am not the only one who will decide that, the members will decide.

?I remain the national secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, and my tenure will elapse on the 8th of December, so any expulsion I am not part of it.

?Also, who expelled who? At what place did the expulsion take place? That?s the question. The truth is that Makinde just commissioned a new motor park in Ibadan and invited some party leaders to join him in that commissioning. That?s what actually happened. There is nothing like a PDP convention.

?What happened is not a convention. I?m supposed to be at the convention. I?m supposed to give the address?the state of affairs of the party?because section 36(1e) of our constitution says I should read an annual report to delegates.

?So, since I was not there, my absence means nothing happened. The only person removed by that jamboree is the former chairman, Damagum.?

Orbih: They are political undertakers

Chief Dan Orbih, the expelled National Vice Chairman (South-South), said those behind the expulsions were ?political undertakers committed to destroying the PDP.?

He told Daily Trust there was no convention in Ibadan, insisting it was ?a social gathering? organised by Governor Seyi Makinde.

?In the absence of enough suya and food to serve guests, they started going into political discussions and saying they are expelling people. There is nothing like Damagum in the political equation of PDP. Damagum has used his hands to remove himself from PDP leadership.

?All we have been saying is that we have a group of people who are hell-bent on destroying the party. They have no regard for the constitution of the party and the laws of the country, and they are telling Nigerians they want to gain back power.

?They must show example. Is this what they will do if they are given opportunity to be in power again? They must show they have what it takes.? (Daily Trust)

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