Tanimu Turaki, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Interim National Working Committee (INWC), has vowed that the opposition party will not be allowed to die, despite recent legal setbacks. Speaking in Abuja on Friday, Turaki addressed gubernatorial candidates for the 2027 general election who were nominated by his faction, reaffirming his group’s determination to reclaim control of the party.
The statement comes in reaction to a ruling by the Court of Appeal, which dismissed an appeal filed by the Senator Adolphus Wabara-led PDP Board of Trustees. The appellate court upheld a Federal High Court judgment that had previously refused to direct the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize the INWC as the authentic leadership of the PDP. This legal development follows a prolonged internal crisis that has split the party’s organs into two rival camps since November 2025.
The division within the PDP is characterized by a split between a camp led by Abdulrahman Mohammed, supported by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike, and the opposing faction led by Turaki. Although INEC has recognized the Mohammed-led National Working Committee (NWC) as the party’s leadership, the Wabara-led Board of Trustees had sought judicial intervention to compel the electoral body to recognize the Turaki-led INWC instead.
“For us, whatever we are doing is to ensure that the only surviving legacy party in Nigeria, which is the People’s Democratic Party, does not go down,” Turaki 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, there is only the tough that gets going.”
Turaki noted that since the Court of Appeal’s judgment, his team has received numerous calls from founding party members, Board of Trustees, and other democratic leaders who expressed concern over the political situation in the country. He described the current state of affairs as “appalling” and “unbelievable,” asserting that no one would have predicted Nigeria would find itself in such a predicament.
Despite the legal defeat, Turaki assured supporters that the struggle to secure the party’s future would continue. He expressed hope that their efforts would ultimately succeed, ensuring that PDP candidates would be placed on the ballot for upcoming elections. “Nigeria will never go down. PDP will also not go down,” he stated, adding that the party would remain the quintessential force it has historically been.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
