PDP Chair Turaki Pledges Transparency, Calls for Unity

The newly elected National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Kabiru Turaki, has made an immediate pledge for a radical internal change, assuring party faithful and the Nigerian public that his leadership will usher in an era free of impunity and the suppression of the popular will. Turaki’s acceptance speech, delivered on Saturday at the conclusion of the party’s 2025 elective National Convention in Ibadan, positioned him as a reformist leader determined to rebuild trust within the crisis-ridden opposition party.

Dr. Turaki, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs during the Goodluck Jonathan administration, secured the chairmanship with a commanding victory. He garnered a total of 1,516 votes, comprehensively defeating his closest challenger, Garuba Lado, who recorded 41 votes. His emergence followed a period of intense lobbying, particularly among the party’s Northern caucus, where he had been endorsed as the consensus candidate, signaling a strategic alignment ahead of the convention.

In his inaugural address, Turaki acknowledged the political turbulence the PDP has endured and vowed that the confidence placed in the new national executives would not be taken for granted. He offered a firm promise for democratic reform: “There will be no more impunity and suppression of the will of Nigerian people and we shall open our ears wide to listen to you to determine what you want and what you want is what we shall give you,” Turaki stated emphatically. This assurance directly tackles long-standing criticisms of the PDP’s internal politics, which critics often allege have been characterized by top-down decision-making and a disregard for grassroots input.

The new chairman further committed his executive to operating under the principles of fairness, equity, and justice throughout the party’s structure. Recognizing the existential challenges confronting the opposition, Turaki admitted that the PDP is currently at a critical “crossroads,” but expressed strong confidence in the ability of the new leadership to successfully tackle these challenges and steer the party toward stability.

A key pillar of Turaki’s immediate agenda is reconciliation. He announced that the executive committee will immediately embark on a widespread outreach effort to engage with and appeal to aggrieved party members who have either defected or distanced themselves. Turaki’s plea is based on a national imperative: he is urging those with genuine grievances to overlook past differences and return to the PDP fold, arguing that this unity is critical to strengthening the opposition and ultimately working to “save Nigeria’s democracy from imminent collapse.” His acceptance speech thus served as both a victory address and a rallying call for internal unity, focusing on democratic principles and the urgent need to effectively challenge the ruling government.