‘Consensus is in our party constitution’ — Dauda Lawal backs Kabiru Turaki as PDP chairman

Dauda Lawal, governor of Zamfara, has defended the endorsement of Kabiru Turaki, ex-minister of special duties and intergovernmental affairs, as the consensus candidate for the position of the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). 

BACKGROUND

Northern PDP stakeholders recently adopted Turaki at a meeting held in Abuja as their consensus candidate for the position of national chairman ahead of the party’s convention.

Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi; Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau; Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa; Lawal; and Umar Damagum, PDP national chairman, attended the meeting where Turaki was endorsed.

Former Senate President Bukola Saraki; Jerry Gana, former minister of information; Abba Moro, senate minority leader; and Ibrahim Shekarau, former minister of education, among others, also attended the meeting.

The PDP national convention to elect new national working committee (NWC) leaders is billed for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

In August, the PDP national executive committee (NEC) zoned its presidential ticket to the south and in line with party tradition, the national chairmanship was zoned to the north.

The position was further micro-zoned to the north-west, with former governors Ahmed Makarfi (Kaduna), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), and Turaki among those rumoured to be eyeing the chairmanship role.

However, on Thursday, some PDP north-west stakeholders kicked against the choice of Turaki.

The north-west stakeholder said they were not invited to the sit-down where the decision was made, noting that the earlier meeting, scheduled for that purpose, had been postponed.

‘AGITATION IS NORMAL’

Reacting to the development on Friday at the inauguration of the accreditation sub-committee for the convention, Lawal said disagreement over Turaki’s adoption is normal.

“No matter what we do, some people will still be aggrieved. It is part of politics,” the governor said.

“What we are doing is to try to bring everybody together in the interest of this party. It is an ongoing process, and I can assure you that things will be okay. But it is normal to have agitations.

“You can see: we have gone through a lot in the past, and now, things are getting better day by day. I am very sure and optimistic that we will bounce back. In fact, we are already making a comeback.

“In the constitution of our party, there is a provision for consensus. So, there is nothing new. It is okay; it is normal. It is part of our constitution in PDP.”

Lawal urged all subcommittees to work in harmony for the convention’s success.

“To the members of the special duties committee, the trust reposed in you is immense. You are the architects of our convention’s solvency and the guidance of its operational integrity,” he said.

“I have every confidence that you will rise to this challenge with distinction.”