Northern PDP Stakeholders Endorse Tanimu Turaki as Consensus Candidate Ahead of Ibadan Convention
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Northern Stakeholders have endorsed former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), as their consensus candidate for the position of National Chairman ahead of the party’s national convention slated for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The endorsement, which took place after a closed-door meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, had in attendance PDP governors, members of the National Working Committee (NWC), and other party leaders from the northern region.
Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, who briefed newsmen after the meeting, said the decision was reached after extensive consultations and deliberations among northern stakeholders.
“We have met this evening to deliberate and take a decision on the office of the chairman of our great party, the PDP, which was zoned to the North. We have reflected deeply and widely through consultation, and as we head to Ibadan for our national convention, we have adopted a consensus candidate to represent the North and, by extension, Nigeria, as the chairman of the PDP. That gentleman is KT Turaki, SAN,” Fintiri said.
He explained that the endorsement represented the collective position of stakeholders from all 19 northern states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Fintiri, however, clarified that the process remains open to other aspirants who may still wish to contest the position, adding that all other offices zoned to the North would be resolved at the regional level before the convention.
“Altogether, we have ten positions in the North as far as the convention is concerned. Nevertheless, anybody who still feels he wants to contest is free to do so. We are not excluding anybody, but this is the consensus position of northern leaders,” he noted.
On possible reconciliation moves with other contenders, including former Jigawa State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, Fintiri said the party had ongoing mechanisms to engage all aspirants and ensure unity ahead of the convention.
“Of course, PDP is an institution, and we have mechanisms to handle all these issues. We have been talking to ourselves over the past two weeks, and what you see now is the outcome of our consultations. I’m assuring you that the convention will be rancour-free,” he stated.
Commenting on recent defections from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Fintiri maintained that the party remains united and focused on its goals.
“We are still united and focused, and our primary responsibility at the moment is the convention. That is what we are concentrating on,” he said.
Those present at the meeting included Governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau, Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa, and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara; former Senate President Bukola Saraki; former Kaduna State Governor Ahmed Makarfi; and members of the PDP National Working Committee from the North under the leadership of Umar Damagum.
