Taminu Turaki, the chairman of the interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says the party remains resilient and cannot be erased from Nigeria’s political landscape.

Mr Turaki made the assertion at a crucial PDP stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Thursday.

The chairman said that despite current leadership and legal hurdles, the PDP possessed the internal strength to navigate its trials and remained a major political force in Nigerian politics.

“For us, the kind of challenge that the PDP is facing today is not something, unfortunately, that is new to us,” he said.

Recalling the party’s previous leadership tussles, especially the crisis resolved under the Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee, Mr Turaki said the party’s past challenges were far more daunting than its present situation.

“For us in PDP, while other political parties are having existential threats, while their existence is threatened, while their lives are shaking, nobody, and I dare say, nobody can kill the PDP.

“PDP will continue to live. There may be challenges here and there regarding the leadership of our party. Again, for us in PDP, this is nothing new. We will overcome. We shall overcome. We are overcoming,”  he said.

Mr Turaki noted that the meeting was to brief the party stakeholders on the recent legal developments, specifically a judgment on a suit instituted by the party’s Board of Trustees (BOT).

The politician added that the closed-door session of the meeting would analyse the judgment to map out strategic next steps.

He, however, said the PDP was on course and would be on the ballot for all elective positions in the 2027 general elections, “from the presidential down to the state houses of assembly election.”

In his remarks, the secretary of the PDP Board of Trustees (BOT), Babangida Aliyu, attributed part of the party’s setbacks to “internal combustion” and the actions of self-serving, nomadic politicians” who repeatedly defected and returned.

“Part of my happiness is that those who thought they could kill PDP by running away to another party are the ones now suffering more than even what we are going through.

“In their case, they don’t even know what is on the ground for them. It is unfortunate that people are not patient enough. It is unfortunate that some people try to play God by making decisions that really belong to God.

“Many of them, we have seen them jumping from one party to the other, for every election that has been conducted, but they forgot the success is not only in their effort,” Mr Aliyu said.

He urged party loyalists to maintain patience, integrity, and faith in the party’s legal path to recovery, while advising them to feel free to express their concerns at the meeting.

The chairman of the PDP State Chairmen’s Forum, Tony Aziegbemi, accused former members now in the ruling fold of attempting to desecrate national institutions and undermine the platform that elevated them.

Mr Aziegbemi admitted that the party made past mistakes by elevating individuals who lacked true allegiance to democratic values.

He cautioned political leaders against unbridled greed and asset accumulation at the expense of millions of citizens facing economic hardship.

(NAN)