The Kabiru Turaki-led group in the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday launched a scathing attack on President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, over comments allegedly urging the demise of the opposition party, declaring that it regretted providing him the platform through which he rose to political prominence.
The group also insisted that, despite its lingering internal crisis, it remained a viable political force and would field candidates for all elective offices in the 2027 general elections.

The declarations were made at a stakeholders’ meeting convened in Abuja by the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee (INWC), which brought together members of the PDP State Chairmen’s Forum, governorship candidates and other party stakeholders to deliberate on the implications of the recent court judgment affecting the party and chart a path towards rebuilding its structures.
Former Chairman of the PDP State Chairmen’s Forum, Tony Aziegbemi, condemned remarks attributed to Akpabio in which the Senate President allegedly said he did not know the PDP still existed until a senator was declared winner of an election before adding, “Make sure that you kill it.”

Describing the comment as unfortunate and unbecoming of the nation’s number three citizen, Aziegbemi reminded Akpabio that virtually every major political office he occupied before joining the All Progressives Congress (APC) was attained on the platform of the PDP.
He recalled that Akpabio served as Personal Assistant to former Akwa Ibom State Governor Victor Attah, later became commissioner, two-term governor and senator under the PDP, adding that the party also facilitated his emergence as Senate Minority Leader.
Aziegbemi said it was regrettable that someone who benefitted immensely from the PDP could publicly wish for its extinction.

“Now you are leading that institution, which some of us are very proud to belong to, and you are desecrating that institution by saying things you ought not to say,” he said.
He added that the PDP had learnt hard lessons from its past and would henceforth exercise greater caution in choosing those it projects for public office.
“In this PDP, we made serious mistakes in projecting people who ought not to have been projected to attain certain positions. Under this leadership, once we get back, such people will never smell those positions they are occupying now,” Aziegbemi declared.
He also pledged the support of the PDP state chairmen for the Turaki-led interim leadership, expressing confidence that the party would emerge stronger from its present challenges.
Earlier, Chairman of the Interim National Working Committee, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, dismissed suggestions that the PDP was on the verge of collapse, insisting that no individual or political group possessed the capacity to destroy the party.
According to him, the PDP had survived similar crises in the past, including the leadership dispute that culminated in the Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee in 2016, and would again overcome its present difficulties.
“Nobody, and I dare say, nobody can kill the PDP. PDP will continue to live. There may be challenges regarding the leadership of our party, but this is nothing new to us. We shall overcome, and indeed we are overcoming,” Turaki said.
The former Minister of Special Duties accused forces aligned with the ruling APC of exploiting divisions within opposition parties to weaken democratic competition, arguing that many of the crises confronting opposition platforms bore the imprint of the governing party.
Without naming specific individuals, Turaki maintained that the PDP remained legally and politically intact despite the recent court judgment arising from a suit instituted by the party’s Board of Trustees.
He assured members that the party would participate fully in the next general elections.

“The essence of every political party is to legitimately capture power. You cannot capture power unless you are on the ballot. I want to tell you that PDP shall be on the ballot for all rounds of the 2027 elections—from the presidential election down to the state Houses of Assembly elections,” he said.
Turaki explained that the stakeholders’ meeting was convened to examine the legal implications of the court ruling and adopt measures that would reposition the PDP ahead of the 2027 electoral contest.

Also addressing the gathering, Secretary of the PDP Board of Trustees and former Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, commended the interim leadership for pursuing constitutional and legal avenues to resolve the party’s crisis.
Describing the current turmoil as an “internal combustion,” Aliyu urged members not to lose faith in the party, insisting that those who abandoned the PDP for other political platforms had not found the stability they anticipated.
“Those who thought they could kill PDP by running away to another party are now suffering more than what we are going through,” he said.

The stakeholders unanimously called for greater unity, internal reforms and discipline within the party, expressing optimism that the PDP would rebuild its structures and re-establish itself as a formidable opposition capable of mounting a strong challenge in the 2027 general elections.