PDP crisis deepens as North West leaders reject Turaki as consensus candidate

Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from the North West zone have rejected the reported adoption of former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, as the consensus candidate for the position of National Chairman of the party.

The decision followed reports that northern PDP stakeholders had endorsed Turaki after a meeting led by Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri.

Addressing journalists after a meeting in Abuja, the North West PDP leaders said the purported endorsement did not represent the collective position of stakeholders from the zone.

Speaking on behalf of the group, the party’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, accused Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal of acting unilaterally without consulting other leaders.

Bature explained that the governor had initially called for a meeting to deliberate on possible candidates for the chairmanship position zoned to the North West but later postponed it and went ahead to adopt a candidate on his own.

“We want to make it clear that this zone has not adopted anybody as a candidate for the PDP chairmanship. There is a lot of resentment due to lack of consultation among leaders in this zone,” Bature said.

He added that the process was inconsistent with the principle of consensus, stressing that no meeting had been held to decide on a candidate for the region.

The leaders also questioned the credibility of the so-called “open contest” when a candidate had already been handpicked, describing it as a move that undermines internal democracy within the party.

Present at the meeting were Mustapha Lamido, son of former Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido; 2023 Kaduna State governorship candidate Isa Ashiru; 2023 Katsina State candidate Garba Lado; and other party leaders from the zone.

The disagreement is believed to be linked to the ongoing division within the PDP between factions loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and those aligned with the acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, ahead of the party’s convention.