Turaki tightens grip on PDP structure, meets ex-govs, ministers

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tanimu Turaki (SAN), on Tuesday met with former governors and ministers elected on the platform of the party, declaring that the newly constituted National Working Committee (NWC) is repositioning the PDP for a return to power.

Addressing the gathering in Abuja, which included a former Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, and a former Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, Turaki said the PDP’s 16 years in government remained Nigeria’s benchmark for development, insisting that many citizens were yearning for a return to the stability and prosperity of that era.

He argued that prevailing socio-economic challenges had reinforced the party’s record in office, describing the period between 1999 and 2015 as a “golden era” marked by economic liberalisation, institutional reforms and national cohesion.

Turaki, who vowed that the PDP would reclaim power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027, said Nigerians had begun to distinguish clearly between competence and propaganda.

He listed key PDP-era achievements, including the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector, banking consolidation, settlement of the Paris Club debt and the establishment of anti-corruption agencies such as the EFCC and ICPC.

Responding, Aliyu, who chairs the PDP Former Governors Forum, warned that Nigeria was drifting towards a one-party state under the APC, citing shrinking political space, rising defections and what he described as the systematic weakening of opposition parties.

He described a strong opposition as essential to democracy and pledged the forum’s support for the Turaki-led NWC, saying the party was undergoing renewal rather than decline. Speaking on behalf of the former ministers’ forum, Shekarau urged the new NWC to remain focused despite political and economic challenges, praising its resilience and commitment to party rebuilding.

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