“We will fight on”: Turaki vows PDP will survive despite Court of Appeal setback

The factional National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Tanimu Turaki (SAN), has vowed that the party will not succumb to what he described as the machinations of undemocratic forces seeking to undermine its survival.

The declaration was made on Saturday in Abuja when the forum of the party’s 2027 governorship candidates, loyal to the Interim National Working Committee, paid him a solidarity visit following the recent Court of Appeal judgment, ValidViewNetwork reports.

THE COURT OF APPEAL JUDGMENT

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal on Wednesday dismissed an appeal by the Turaki faction’s Board of Trustees Chairman and former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, and seven others, seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise the Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee.

The three-member panel, led by Justice Ugochukwu Ogakwu, affirmed the July judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had earlier refused to grant the relief sought.

THE VOW

Turaki said the PDP would remain resolute and sustain its efforts to overcome the challenges confronting it.

“I have listened to you. Other members of the NWC of the PDP have also listened to you. Your message is quite succinct and clear, and the sum total of your message is that the PDP must survive. For us, whatever we are doing is to ensure that the only surviving legacy party in Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party, does not go down,” he said. “We shall remain resolute in this. We will fight on. We will stand up because, when the going gets tough like this, it is often said that only the tough get going.”

He added: “Nigeria will never go down. The PDP will also not go down. Whatever machinations anybody or any group of persons may make, we want to tell them that the PDP will continue to survive and remain the quintessential party that it has always been.”

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THE LEGAL STRATEGY

Turaki said the party had directed its lawyers to review last Wednesday’s Court of Appeal judgment and advise on the next line of action.

He maintained that the PDP Board of Trustees did not file a fresh suit but sought clarification on existing court judgments affirming the legitimacy of his leadership and the party’s 2027 candidates.

“These candidates have had their names and particulars sent to INEC, and INEC had accepted them, from the presidential candidate to the National Assembly and our governorship candidates, as well as candidates vying for various seats in the state Houses of Assembly across Nigeria,” he said.

“What the Board of Trustees is saying is that, having accepted the list of our candidates who emerged through this elaborate process, INEC is under an obligation not only to put the names of these leaders on its portal but also to display the names of these candidates as the PDP’s candidates for the 2027 election.”

WHY IT MATTERS

The PDP’s crisis is a gift to the ruling party.While the APC prepares for the 2027 election with a united front, the PDP is consumed by a leadership dispute that has split the party into two factions.

The Turaki faction insists it is the authentic leadership. The Mohammed faction, backed by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, controls the party machinery.

The Court of Appeal has sided with the Mohammed faction. The Turaki faction is heading to the Supreme Court. And the party’s candidates are caught in the middle, unsure whether their names will appear on the ballot.Turaki has vowed to fight on.

The PDP will survive, he says. But survival is not the same as victory. And in 2027, the PDP will need more than survival to compete. ValidViewNetwork reports.