The newly elected National Chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), has declared that the party is being repositioned for a return to power, insisting that Nigerians remain nostalgic for the PDP’s 16 years in government.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday at a meeting with former governors and ministers elected on the party’s platform, Turaki described the period between 1999 and 2015 as a “golden era” marked by economic liberalisation, institutional reforms, and national cohesion.
He argued that prevailing socio-economic challenges under the current administration had reinforced the PDP’s record in office.
Turaki listed key achievements of the PDP era, including the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector, banking consolidation, settlement of the Paris Club debt, and the establishment of anti-corruption agencies such as the EFCC and ICPC.
He vowed that the PDP would reclaim power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027, saying Nigerians had begun to distinguish clearly between competence and propaganda.
The main opposition party boss emphasised that the meeting was deliberately convened to highlight the enduring legacies of PDP governance.
“Even after we left office 10 years ago, our legacies in the states and indeed at the centre are standing tall for everybody to see,” he said.
He added that the PDP grew Nigeria’s economy, pulled the country out of debt, built infrastructure, and strengthened institutions that continue to shape governance today.
“If as a new NWC we’ve said, and consistently so, that we need to bring us back to those glorious 16 years of PDP rulership in this country, then we must therefore go back to the basics,” Turaki concluded.
Others Speak on Opposition as Democracy’s Lifeline
Former Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, who chairs the PDP Former Governors Forum, warned that Nigeria was drifting toward a one-party state under the APC, citing defections and shrinking political space.
He pledged the forum’s support for the Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC), describing the party as undergoing renewal rather than decline.
Former Kano State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, speaking on behalf of the former ministers’ forum, urged the NWC to remain focused despite political and economic challenges, praising its resilience and commitment to rebuilding.
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