By Blessing Olaniyan with Agency Report
In what can be described as a determination to reposition the party as a formidable opposition in the country in spite of conflicting court verdicts, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has elected a former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), as the National Chairman of the party.
The Channel TV News also reports that Turaki emerged as the new chairman of the PDP on Saturday during its National Convention in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, where delegates from 17 states across the country cast their votes to choose national officers for the party.
Announcing the results of the election, a former lawmaker representing Anambra Central at the National Assembly, Senator Ben Obi, said the Turaki scored 1,516 votes during the exercise held at Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan, on Saturday.
Obi added that Senator Yakubu Danmarke scored 275 votes and disclosed that a total of 1,834 votes were cast while 43 voted were voided.
He further declared: “It is therefore clear that from the votes cast that Kabiru Turaki has won the position of the National Chairman of the PDP with a total of 1,516 votes.”
Obi also said that Solarin Adekunle emerged as the Deputy National Organising Secretary of the PDP, saying that two national positions were contested during the elective convention.
A total of 3,131 delegates participated in the exercise, while 2,745 delegates were accredited.
In his acceptance speech, Turaki told members and supporters of the party that the confidence reposed in him would not be taken for granted.
The Senior Advocate further assured members of the party that he would carry out the mandate assigned to him.
Recalling the history of the PDP, Turaki SAN said, “Today, as I talk to you, the only political party that has retained its name is the Peoples Democratic Party.
“This has been possible because this is the party for the Nigerian people. Make no mistake about it; we are returning the party to you, the people. There will be no more impunity.
The former minister said the party would listen to Nigerians and give them what they want.
Turaki further disclosed that the PDP under his watch would reunite the party by bringing back the aggrieved members who have left the party He said, “We will appeal to you to come back because the task ahead of us is saving Nigerian democracy, saving Nigeria from the precipice.”
He also said the party would soon release its guiding principles and hit the ground running.
Turaki, 54, hails from Kebbi State and attended the University of Jos, Plateau State, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Law.
He was called to the Nigerian Bar after completing his studies at the Nigerian Law School in Lagos. He has over 25 years of post-qualification experience.
The Senior Advocate was also a candidate for the Kebbi State governorship election in 2011.
He was sworn in by the then-President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and was appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Special Duties, Presidency, in February 2013.
State Governors who attended the convention were Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau) and the PDP National Chairman, Umar Damagum
Others were the Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro; a former governor of Osun, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, his Gombe counterpart, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo; and the Board of Trustees chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara; and a chieftain of the party, among others.
The convention was organised despite ongoing litigations over its legitimacy while the PDP has been battling an internal leadership crisis that led to a division within the party.
The party had earlier expelled the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, the suspended National Secretary of the party, Senator Samuel Anyanwu former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose and others.
But two PDP governors: Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa) and Caleb Muftwang) have distanced themselves from the expulsion of Wike and others, saying that the decision was never discussed by the PDP Governors.
Fintiri and Mutfwang added that what the party should be promoting at this stage should be the unity of the party and not what will further divide the opposition party.
It is instructive to note that three PDP Governors: Ademola Adeleke (Osun); Siminalayi Fubara (Rivers) and Agbu Kefas (Taraba) were absent from the national convention.
