Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kabiru Turaki has said Nigerians are “yearning” for the opposition party to regain power in 2027.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday during a meeting with former governors and ministers who are members of the party, Turaki described the 16 years of the PDP in power between 1999 and 2015 as a “glorious” era.
“Beyond taking this party back to Nigerians who are the owners, we need to have a critical interface with those men and women whose work, sacrifice, and selfless service to the fatherland were responsible for distinguishing PDP as the first party that won election back-to-back, four times in Nigeria,” Turaki said.
Turaki said the PDP must do things differently to reclaim power at the national and sub-national levels.
He said during the PDP reign, the country witnessed “phenomenal” progress in policies and projects that positively impacted the lives of Nigerians.
“And that is why today, even after we left office 10 years ago, our legacies in the states and indeed at the centre are standing tall for everybody to see. It is on record that PDP grew the Nigerian economy. We pulled this country out of debt burden. We were able to build infrastructure. We built strong institutions that today have strengthened what governments at various levels are doing, be it in terms of project execution or monitoring, the war against corruption, and so many areas.”
Speaking on behalf of the ex-PDP governors, Babangida Aliyu, former governor of Niger state, accused the federal government of weaponising state institutions to silence opposition leaders.
Aliyu added “The relentless poaching of opposition figures and the weaponisation of state institutions to intimidate dissenting voices are clear indicators that Nigeria is sliding dangerously into a one-party state. This is not just a threat to the PDP but a direct assault on the hard-won democratic freedoms of every Nigerian citizen.”
Ibrahim Shekarau, former governor of Kano, who represented ex-ministers who served during the PDP years in power, advised party members to be committed to unity and nation-building, adding “I look around this room, and I see the architects of modern Nigeria. Do not let the noise distract you, and do not relent because you have done more than expected”.
