Kabiru Turaki, Sole Contender, Elected PDP National Chairman

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has elected Kabiru Turaki, the former minister of special duties and intergovernmental affairs, as its new national chairman.

The election took place on Saturday during the party’s national convention in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

Turaki, who was the sole candidate for the top position, secured 1,516 votes. His election followed the earlier withdrawal of Lado Danmarke, the 2023 governorship candidate of the PDP in Katsina state. Despite dropping out of the race, Danmarke secured 275 votes.

In other results, Solarin Sunday Adekunle polled 633 votes to get elected as the deputy national organising secretary.

The positions of youth leader and deputy national legal adviser were stepped down, while the remaining 17 positions were unopposed and therefore returned elected.

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

During a series of meetings in October, some north-west stakeholders, including governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau, Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa, and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara, adopted Turaki as their consensus candidate.

Others at that meeting included former Senate President Bukola Saraki and former minister Jerry Gana.