Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by the party’s National Chairman, Dr. Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, have held a strategic closed-door meeting with former President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja.
The meeting, which lasted for about one hour, was attended by members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), Board of Trustees (BoT), former governors, former ministers, and founding members of the PDP.
Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Dr. Turaki said the visit was aimed at formally introducing members of the newly elected NWC to the former President and briefing him on developments within the party since the last National Convention held in November 2025 in Ibadan.
According to him, the delegation updated Jonathan on the current state of the party, its challenges, and prospects, while also seeking his continued guidance and support.
Dr. Turaki disclosed that the former President reaffirmed his commitment to the PDP and assured party leaders of his readiness to take a more active role in its affairs.
He said Jonathan made it clear that he remains a card-carrying member of the PDP and feels a sense of obligation to the party, which he noted had supported him throughout his political career.
On concerns surrounding the recognition of the Turaki-led PDP by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the National Chairman stated that the electoral body had, at different times, demonstrated recognition of the party’s leadership.
Dr. Turaki explained that INEC granted the party access to its online portal to upload details of its governorship candidate and running mate for the Ekiti State governorship election, after monitoring the party’s primaries and issuing a report.
He, however, expressed concern that the party was later blocked from accessing the INEC portal, despite having already completed the manual submission of the required documents, which INEC acknowledged and received.
The PDP chairman further disclosed that a similar process occurred in Osun State, where the party notified INEC of its governorship primaries, which the commission monitored, leading to the emergence of a candidate.
According to him, once a political party fulfils its statutory obligation of notifying INEC of its activities, the commission has the discretion to attend or not. He argued that INEC’s attendance, monitoring, and documentation of PDP primaries amounted to recognition of the party’s leadership.
While maintaining that INEC has recognised the current PDP leadership, Dr. Turaki admitted that recent actions by the commission were raising concerns and doubts about its independence.
He urged the electoral body to remain neutral and uphold its constitutional responsibility without bias.
Prominent party leaders at the meeting included former Governor of Niger State Babangida Aliyu, former Minister of Information Professor Jerry Gana, and former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, SAN, among others.
Turaki-Led PDP Meets Jonathan, Secures Assurance of Continued Support
