The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Thursday declared that it would be on the ballot in all the 2027 general elections, insisting that no individual or group could destroy the party despite its current leadership crisis.
The declaration came as the party’s Interim National Working Committee, INWC, convened a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja to rally its leaders, review the implications of last Friday’s judgment secured by the Board of Trustees and chart a common political and legal strategy.
The mood in the hall was one of defiance rather than despair, with party leaders repeatedly urging members to stay united, arguing that the PDP had weathered tougher storms before and would do so again.
Opening the meeting, Interim National Working Committee Chairman, Chief Tanimu Turaki, SAN, anchored the party’s position, while former Niger State Governor and Board of Trustees Secretary, Dr Babangida Aliyu, and Chairman of the PDP State Chairmen’s Forum, Hon. Tony Aziegbemi, built on the message with appeals for loyalty, patience and internal reforms, even as they criticised defectors and accused unnamed political opponents of seeking the party’s collapse.
“Nobody, and I dare say, nobody can kill the PDP. PDP will continue to live… I want to tell you that PDP shall be on the ballot for all rounds of the 2027 elections, from the presidential down to the states houses of assembly election. PDP, this PDP shall be on the ballot,” Turaki declared.
He likened the current turmoil to the party’s 2016 leadership crisis, recalling how the Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee eventually reunited the PDP after an intense legal battle. According to him, the present challenge was far less severe and should not unsettle party faithful.
“People may recall a time in the past when attempts were made to take the leadership of our party. A caretaker committee was set up under the leadership of His Excellency Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi. What we are now witnessing in our party is even a child’s play. By the special grace of God, we shall overcome,” he said.
Turaki said Thursday’s meeting was convened principally to dissect the recent judgment obtained by the party’s Board of Trustees and fashion a common response, explaining that the leadership had yet to issue an official position because several members of the interim working committee were away when the judgment was delivered.
The senior lawyer also blamed the instability in many opposition parties on the actions of those in power, lamenting that political crises across the opposition often led back to ‘the footsteps of the party in government.’
“We used to think that more than any other person, people in government should prefer peace to reign than crisis in their domain… while other political parties are having existential threat… nobody can kill the PDP,” he added.
Taking the floor, ex-governor Babangida Aliyu said the party should draw strength from the current adversity, arguing that difficult times had often revealed the resilience of committed members.
“Many a times, you will never know the strength that you have until you are thoroughly challenged. We have been challenged,” Aliyu said.
The former governor recalled nominating Senator Ahmed Makarfi to lead the PDP caretaker committee during the previous leadership crisis, expressing confidence that the party would once again emerge stronger.
Aliyu took a swipe at former PDP members who defected to other political parties, describing them as ‘fugitive, nomadic politicians’ who pursued personal ambitions at the expense of the party.
“Those who thought they could kill PDP by running away to another party, they are the ones now who are suffering more than even what we are going through,” he said.
He urged members to remain steadfast, insisting that political success ultimately depended not only on personal effort but also on integrity and divine favour.
“If you have a clean heart, He knows it, and He will reward you at the end of the day. We will get our party back, and we will succeed in the final analysis,” Aliyu added.
Also addressing the stakeholders, Hon. Tony Aziegbemi criticised what he described as reckless comments by some former beneficiaries of the PDP who now wished for the party’s extinction.
“I heard somebody telling someone else: ‘I didn’t know PDP was still existing. Make sure that you kill it,’” Aziegbemi said, lamenting that individuals elevated by the party had turned against it.
He admitted that the PDP had made mistakes by promoting certain individuals into positions of authority and said the party must learn from those errors going forward.
Aziegbemi also condemned what he described as growing greed among public office holders, saying the accumulation of enormous wealth by a few Nigerians contrasted sharply with the hardship facing millions across the country.
“You are accumulating and accumulating and depriving every other person the right to a decent living. You are depriving 60 million Nigerians that go to bed every night hungry,” he said.
He urged members not to lose faith in the party’s future.
“Don’t be scared. Don’t have doubts. We will get there… We will know where the rain beat us and where the rain dried us,” Aziegbemi said.
