Some north-west stakeholders in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have rejected the endorsement of Kabiru Turaki, ex-minister of special duties and intergovernmental affairs, as the consensus candidate for national chairman.
BACKGROUND
Northern PDP stakeholders adopted Turaki as their sole consensus candidate during a series of meetings held on Wednesday night.
Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi; Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau; Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa; Dauda Lawal of Zamfara; and Umar Damagum, PDP national chairman, attended the meeting.
Others were former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Jerry Gana, former minister of information; Abba Moro, senate minority leader; Ibrahim Shekarau, former minister of education, among others.
The PDP national convention to elect new national working committee (NWC) leaders is billed for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.
In August, the PDP national executive committee (NEC) zoned its presidential ticket to the south.
In line with party tradition, the national chairmanship was zoned to the north after the presidential ticket was thrown to the south.
The position was further micro-zoned to the north-west, with former governors Ahmed Makarfi (Kaduna), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), and Turaki among those rumoured to be eyeing the chairmanship role.
‘WE WEREN’T CONSULTED’
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Umar Bature, PDP national organising secretary, said Turaki’s endorsement was not a unanimous decision.
Bature was flanked by Ibrahim Tsauri, former PDP secretary; Mustapha, Lamido’s son; Isah Ashiru, former gubernatorial candidate in Kaduna, among others.
“A meeting was held yesterday with other leaders of the northern zones, and the name of an individual was reportedly adopted. The north-west has not met to agree on that position,” he said.
“So, we want to make it clear to everybody that this zone [north-west] has not adopted anybody as a candidate from this zone for the position of Peoples Democratic Party national chairman.
“We believe we are the strongest zone in the PDP, and the attitude of our leaders in this regard made us take this position that we disagree with the governor’s position of yesterday, and we are going to have our own candidate that we will nominate for that position.
“North-west is the zone to which the national chairmanship has been zoned. This position has been determined by other zones, and we believe it is unfair for them to select a particular candidate without consulting this zone. That’s why we are taking this position.
“Consensus is made by consultation. We have not been consulted.”
Bature said they were not invited to the meeting where the decision was made, adding that the earlier meeting, scheduled for that purpose, had been postponed.
