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.”
We’ll work with them if our principles align – ADC
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.”
We wish them good luck; we’re not worried – APC
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.
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