Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the North-West zone have distanced themselves from the endorsement of former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki (SAN), as the region’s consensus candidate for the position of National Chairman.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday night, the party’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, said the purported endorsement did not reflect the collective decision of stakeholders from the North-West.
Bature, who spoke on behalf of the zone’s leaders, described the announcement as unilateral and lacking proper consultation.
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“The North-West has not met to agree on that position. What we want to make clear is that this zone has not adopted anybody as a candidate for the position of PDP National Chairman,” he said.
His comments followed Wednesday’s announcement by the Chairman of the PDP National Convention Organising Committee and Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, that Turaki had been adopted as the North’s consensus candidate. Fintiri, however, added that any aspirant not satisfied with the decision was free to contest.
The development comes as the PDP prepares for its national convention scheduled for November. At its 102nd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on August 25 in Abuja, the party resolved to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South and the National Chairmanship to the North. The position was subsequently micro-zoned to the North-West.
Bature explained that the North-West stakeholders were yet to hold any formal meeting to decide on a consensus candidate, stressing that the process should involve wide consultation among leaders of the zone.
“Consensus is achieved through consultation. We were not consulted before the announcement was made. The meeting that was supposed to hold yesterday at the instance of the Zamfara governor was postponed, and yet a candidate was adopted without the zone’s input,” he said.
He added that the North-West, being the party’s strongest zone, would soon present its preferred candidate for the chairmanship position.
“We are the strongest zone in the PDP, and we disagree with the decision announced by the governors. We will have our own candidate whom we will nominate for the position,” Bature stated.
Prominent PDP leaders and stakeholders present at the Abuja briefing included former National Secretary Ibrahim Tsauri, the PDP’s 2023 Kaduna governorship candidate, Isa Ashiru Kudan, and Mustapha Lamido, son of former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido.
