National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tanimu Turaki, says the party has yet to receive any official communication from Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State over his resignation from PDP.
Turaki stated this while speaking with newsmen shortly after the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said while Adeleke has the right to stay or leave the party, he had yet to communicate the party that he was resigning his membership.
“We have seen in the media a letter purported to be from him resigning his membership of our party, but I tell you that up to this moment, we have not officially received any such indication from him that he has left this party.
“From the instructions we have given our people in the field, I know that Governor Adeleke’s name is one of the aspirants vying for the ticket.
“So, if he decides — either in person or via a representative at the centre of the primary — that he has withdrawn or refused to make himself available, then that will form part of the report we will receive.
“As far as we are concerned, even if what we saw on social media is true, as a Nigerian, Governor Adeleke, like any other person, has the constitutional right to freedom of association. He is free to move in; he is free to move out of any political party,” he said.
Turaki said that the power and strength of PDP remained with the people, not persons elected on the platform of the party.
“We are together with our people. If you go to states where some of the governors left, conduct a survey and you will discover that most of the people did not go with those who defected. That is what we are counting on.
“Our people are with us intact, and by the special Grace of God, when election time comes, they will prove to Nigerians that the PDP is still in proper and complete shape,” Turaki said.
Speaking on the party’s internal processes, Turaki said that the NWC had reviewed and approved the congresses in Osun conducted to select ad-hoc delegates.
He also said that the party’s governorship primary for Osun was ongoing peacefully, noting that Adeleke remained one of the aspirants in the exercise.
“As I speak to you now, primaries are ongoing. Governor Adeleke’s name is one of the aspirants vying for the ticket,” he said.
Turaki added that the NWC had also reviewed the arrangements being made for the conduct of the local government election in Anambra State.
“We are satisfied with the report we received from the leadership of the party in Anambra State, that they are well prepared for that election. We are hoping that we will sweep that election when it is conducted,” he said.
Turaki also said that the former governors of the party nominated by President Bola Tinubu for non-career ministerial appointments had not communicated the party on the development.
“For the former governors who have been nominated, we are yet to receive any indication from them seeking permission or notifying us of the appointment.
“We wish them well. If they come to us, we will certainly consider it on its merit and take a decision on the appropriate response.
“But for now, I can confirm to you that we have not received any communication from them informing us that they have been nominated for ambassadorial positions,” he said.
On the security challenge currently facing Nigeria, Turaki said that the NWC advised the Federal Government to immediately review the country’ security architecture.
He said there was the need for government to brace up and ensure that Nigerians and their property were protected wherever they might be.
“We call on the Federal Government to brace up and, most especially, begin to consider a review of the security architecture in this country.
“We in the PDP believe that a situation where governors are called the Chief Security Officers of their respective states, yet have no hand in controlling the operational activities of the military and security personnel who operate in their states, is something that needs to be overhauled,” he said.
