Governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a section of the National Working Committee (NWC) have picked former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, as consensus national chairman ahead of the party’s elective convention in Ibadan on November 15 and 16.
The consensus move was reportedly spearheaded by Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), and Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), with Makinde also pushing for his ally, former Oyo State deputy governor Taofeek Arapaja, to emerge as National Secretary.
The development has, however, sparked opposition within the party.
Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, faulted the decision, accusing Fintiri of announcing a consensus candidate without wider consultations.
“I don’t know how someone will just sit down and say a consensus candidate has been chosen without carrying stakeholders along,” Wike said during a media chat over the weekend.
Northcentral party leaders also rejected Turaki’s selection, insisting the next chairman should come from their zone to replace the former chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, who hails from Benue.
The Southeast House of Representatives Caucus has threatened to boycott the convention if the position of Women Leader is not zoned to the region.
According to them, the zone deserves recognition and equitable representation in the NWC.
Former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, who is also contesting the chairmanship, has rejected the consensus arrangement, insisting on an elective primary.
Party stalwarts in Kebbi State, Turaki’s home base, have also kicked against his selection, describing it as imposed.
A source at the meeting where Turaki was picked revealed to The Nation that at least three aspirants had already indicated their interest in contesting before the consensus announcement.
Meanwhile, aspirants for various NWC positions are expected to appear before a 13-man Screening Committee on Tuesday in Abuja.
The panel is chaired by Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), with Asue Ighodalo as Secretary. Other members include Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Chief Aduke Maina, Josephine Anenih, Inna Ciroma, Zainab Maina, Mohammed Diri, Jacob Otorkpa, Emmanuel Enoidem, Achike Udenwa, Felix Hassan Hyat, and Chinedu Nwachukwu.
The source speaking on the outcome of the meeting said, “At the meeting, the governors asked those interested in the chairmanship position to indicate by raising their hands. Turaki and Senator Ibrahim Shekarau indicated their interest, while Senator Ahmed Makarfi told the meeting that Sule Lamido was interested in contesting the position, but was absent at the meeting.
“The governors asked them to go out and discuss among themselves and come back with their resolution. Makarfi was asked to represent Sule Lamido. We all know that Makarfi was interested, but he did not indicate probably because he knew it will be difficult for him to get the position.
“When they returned, Shekarau said he will stand by whatever decision the governors arrived at, especially if they settled for Turaki. Turaki said if the governors choose Shakarau, he will abide by the decision.
“They told the meeting that Lamido has insisted that no matter the decision arrived at, he was going ahead to contest the chairmanship. He claimed that he was asked to contest the position by the northern elders.
“After that, the governors met to deliberate and settled for Turaki. But Lamido has insisted that he will go ahead to contest, which is his right to do. But we all know that you need the governors to win and they are not comfortable with Lamido.
“The governors don’t want a man that will not respect them and that will tell them that whatever they are today, he has been there. They don’t want a man that will not answer them anytime they call. That is why they did not settle for Lamido.”
The source added, “When the governors settled for Turaki and announced it to the meeting, they called for dissenting voices by asking those who are not at peace with the decision to say their mind. But nobody said anything.
“All those who are shouting now were at that meeting. The chairman of the PDP in Sokoto was at the meeting. He did not object and did not say anything. It was after they left the meeting that they started making noise. Sule Lamido’s people are making noise. He has gone to meet them and told him that they cannot select him because he will feel greater than all of them.”
However, a chieftain from the Northwest, Umar Sani, said those opposed to the choice of Turaki are those bent on destabilising the party for selfish and personal gains.
Sani, a former spokesperson for former Vice President Namadi Sambo, described the meeting of some Northwest leaders as a charade.
He said, “The recent adoption of Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN by the Northern Governors and key PDP stakeholders has unsettled a small but taciturn group of Northwest loyalists aligned with a southern politician hell bent on destabilizing the party.
“Led by the party’s National Organizing Secretary, Capt. Umar Bature, these dissenters from Kebbi, Sokoto, and Jigawa States are protesting the choice, arguing that since the chairmanship of the PDP has been zoned to the Northwest, only the zone itself should determine the nominee.
“This argument, however, is both historically and politically hollow. The chairman of a major political party is not merely a regional representative, but that of the whole federation.
“He is the engine room and rallying point of the entire political organization. His emergence cannot and has never been an exclusive regional affair. From Solomon Lar to Barnabas Gemade, Vincent Ogbulafor, Audu Ogbe, Ahmadu Ali, Okwesilieze Nwodo, Bamanga Tukur, and Adamu Mu’azu, party chairmen have always been products of broader consultations and the influence of powerful blocs within the PDP.
“Indeed, most chairmen were hand-picked or endorsed by sitting Presidents or leading power brokers within the party. Solomon Lar’s one-year protem tenure was an exception. He was chosen to set the ball rolling and put the party on a sound footing.
“Sen Ali Modu Sheriff, for example, was chosen to complete the Northeast tenure after the resignation of Adamu Muazu, through the intervention of Wike and Fayose. The Sen Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee was the brainchild of Babangida Aliyu and former Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State in Port Harcourt.
“Prince Uche Secondus emerged through Wike’s backing, just as Sen Iyorchia Ayu was a joint product of Wike and Samuel Ortom. History, therefore, proves that party leaders and governors will always show interest in who leads them.
“Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri rightly reaffirmed the well-established PDP tradition by declaring that any dissatisfied aspirants are free to contest the position, an open and democratic invitation.
“Ironically, Capt. Umar Bature himself became National Organizing Secretary through a unilateral nomination by Sen Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. For him now to lead a rebellion against the collective will of the governors is a clear act and a demonstration of insubordination and ingratitude.
“His alliance with an erstwhile Kebbi PDP governorship candidate and a few handpicked PDP sympathizers from Sokoto and Jigawa states only exposes a desperate attempt to give false legitimacy to an unpopular stance. The Northwest cannot arrogate to itself the exclusive right to nominate the next PDP National Chairman when the position affects the whole country and the unity and functionality of the party nationwide.
“The choice of Kabiru Tanimu Turaki SAN reflects a deliberate and strategic consensus anchored on competence, character, and capacity to stabilize the PDP in turbulent times. Those who oppose such a choice for personal gain betray the collective interest of the party. The governors’ decision is steeped in wisdom and foresight, and any genuine lover of the PDP committed to the unity, stability, peace, and progress of the party should stand by it.
“In the end, the so-called Northwest meeting is nothing more than a charade of misplaced entitlement, a political tantrum by those who mistake selfish ambition for regional interest and arrogate to themselves powers they do not have.”
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