The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has appointed former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki SAN, to engage with the two claimants for the position of National Secretary and provide guidance accordingly.

This decision was announced in a communique following the 79th BoT meeting held in Abuja Wednesday.

Chairman of the BoT, Senator Adolphus Wabara, read the communique, stating, “In an effort to resolve the current crisis over the position of the National Secretary of the Party, which is presently before the courts, the BoT has set up a committee led by Barr Kabiru Tanimu Turaki SAN to interface with the parties, study the situation, and report to the Board for further action.”

Wabara also expressed the Board’s concerns regarding the ongoing crisis within the party, particularly among the National Working Committee (NWC). He urged, “The BoT calls on the members of the NWC, all organs, leaders, and critical stakeholders of our Party to rise above personal, group, or sectional interests and place the stability, unity, sustenance, and progress of our Party and its ideals above all other considerations.”

Additionally, Wabara announced that the party’s Acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum, has assured that the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting will take place as scheduled in February 2025.

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Regarding the state of the nation, Wabara expressed grave concerns over the deteriorating economic and security situation, social dislocation, and a pervasive sense of hopelessness, attributing these issues to “the ill-conceived and ill-implemented policies of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.”

He stated, “The BoT decries the insensitivity of the APC administration towards Nigerians, as evidenced by unjustified multiple taxes and the failure to stem the rising costs of fuel, electricity tariffs, and telecommunication charges, which have a crippling effect on the productive sector and lead to an unbearable increase in the cost of living.”

The PDP BoT demanded that the APC administration immediately rescind all its anti-people policies and take urgent steps to stimulate the productive sector, create jobs, and revitalize the struggling economy.

Why I stepped out of the BoT meeting—Ude-Okoye

One of the claimants for the office of National Secretary of the PDP, Hon. Sunday Ude-Okoye, spoke with reporters shortly after the communique was read, explaining that he had left the meeting hall for his personal safety. “I wasn’t forcefully pushed out. Some people wanted to attack me, and I decided to move out in defense of myself. No one pushed me out; I moved out to protect myself,” he clarified.

When asked about Turaki’s appointment to interface with the claimants for the Secretary position, Ude-Okoye responded, “Which National Secretary are you talking about? Is it me or someone else? I am the National Secretary.” He continued, “Perhaps you didn’t understand what the BoT chairman said. He indicated that this issue is going to be resolved and that a committee has been formed. He even mentioned the name of the committee’s chairman, Tanimu Turaki SAN. That was his statement.” Ude-Okoye firmly asserted, “I’m the National Secretary; I assumed office on December 29, 2024.”

Meanwhile, the party’s current National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, did not respond when approached by reporters for comment.