The Governor Seyi Makinde-backed Turaki-led group of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) expressed hope on Friday that reconciliation efforts and the decision of the Supreme Court would work and rescue the opposition party ahead of the 2027 polls.

This came as the Abdulrahman-led PDP, which is backed by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, is bent on conducting a fresh national convention tomorrow to elect officers for the party.

Rising from its 103rd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Friday, the Turaki-led group said while it had filed an appeal at the Supreme Court challenging the nullification of the Ibadan convention, it believed that both parties could still resolve their differences amicably in the interest of the PDP.

Speaking on the outcome of the NEC meeting, the National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said it ratified all actions and decisions taken so far by the organs of the PDP since the appeal court passed its judgement.

Ememobong said: “Among those decisions, the decision to explore reconciliation, the decision ratifying the appeal to the Supreme Court, the decision to take necessary steps to ensure that the e-registration is successful.

“All of those were ratified and after exhaustive deliberations, the NEC came to the agreement that the decisions were taken in utmost good faith and therefore without any dissension, unanimously ratified those decisions.

“That is why I think it is important so that our teaming supporters would know that our e-registration is ongoing and that plans to salvage the party and to make sure that the party is on the ballot are on course and the party is strengthened every single day. That is the position and that’s what happened at NEC today.”

Ememobong admitted that though the reconciliation had not been exactly smooth, irrespective of whatever the parties did individually, the belief remained that a solution would be reached somehow with the help of God.

“It is only God who can give an answer whether the negotiation will eventually work or not. Only God can give that answer. But our duty is to act in utmost good faith towards that destination.

“Because at the end of the day, if men choose to play god, God will become God. Because we are opposed to the deification of man and the magnification of God. Men must be men and God must be God”, he added.

When reminded of the convention being planned by the Wike-backed group, Ememobong replied that the Turaki-led camp was not aware of any convention beginning on Sunday.

“Talking about the convention, there is no convention coming up to our knowledge. But we will not begin to deconstruct that because that would be an inconvenient truth. And we cannot be saying those inconvenient truths at these points in public.

“Those are things we are discussing together. It is like having a wife and someone comes to claim your wife. The wife knows whose wife she is.

“You know, and my people say that the owner of a thing does not drag it too much. So if you see our disposition, it is because at the end we hope that we can get to an agreeable situation so that our people can find a solid political platform to run. And let me tell you, we have been speaking against the concept of mutually assured destruction,” he replied to a question.

In his opening remarks at the NEC meeting, Turaki himself spoke of possible resolution of the crisis through reconciliation, saying that both camps were deeply involved in discussions.

“Suffice me to say that for us in PDP, all hope is not lost. It’s also important for me to inform us that every conceivable effort is being made by the leadership to ensure that PDP is on the ballot in all the elections in 2027.

“It is also my pleasure to inform us also that the leadership is assiduously working around the clock to ensure that PDP remains a veritable platform for all our members wishing to contest for elections, both in the 2027 and beyond.

“We feel that to whom that much is given, that much is expected,” he told the attendees.

He maintained that the current crisis remained a phase that the PDP would survive just like it went through tough times before and came out to rebuild.

“Nobody and no group of people can stand up and say, this is our party. And that is why we have lost former presidents, we have lost former vice presidents, serving former governors, members of the National Assembly, but that has not affected in any way the survival of this party.

“So, PDP will still continue to exist by the special grace of God because PDP has become an institution as far as democracy in Nigeria is concerned,” Turaki added.

The chairman of the BoT, Senator Adolphus Wabara, caucuses of the party and state chairmen also addressed the opening of the NEC meeting, pledging their support for reconciliation and the urgency to save the PDP ahead of 2027.

Wabara held the view that the PDP would succeed and have a big laugh.

“I want to end by saying, distinguished, most reliable members of NEC, to leave you here with this adage, he who laughs last laughs best,” he said.

It will be recalled that the November 15, 2025 Ibadan convention of the party had produced the Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC).

However, the Court of Appeal had affirmed the nullification of the convention, further leaving the PDP in disarray and shopping for urgent ways out of its precarious situation that is likely to affect its chances of participating in the polls next year.

Amid the development, the Abdulrahman-led camp, which had long put in place a caretaker committee, is pushing for a new national convention by the weekend.

Findings indicated that reconciliation between the two groups had made slow progress because of disagreement over the sharing of key positions.

The Wike-backed group, which has the ears of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is said to be bent on appropriating the offices of national chairman, national secretary and national organising secretary, considered to be the power centres in the NWC. (TRIBUNE)

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