The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) formally inaugurated a new Board of Trustees (BoT) on Thursday, in what Acting National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulrahman Muhammad, described as a decisive moment of moral and political renewal for Nigeria’s oldest ruling party.
Addressing party leaders, stakeholders, and members of the press at the event in Abuja, Muhammad said the inauguration was not just a formality but a symbolic step toward restoring the values that once defined the PDP; justice, fairness, inclusivity, and respect for the rule of law.
He acknowledged that the party had faced serious internal storms in recent years, including leadership disputes and decisions that undermined its founding ideals. The Acting Chairman said these challenges weakened the PDP’s credibility and nearly fractured its unity.
He accused the previous BoT, led by Senator Adolphus Wabara, of losing moral authority following his suspension by the Abia State chapter for alleged anti-party activities. He also faulted the suspended National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, for failing to uphold the party’s constitution and judicial pronouncements, a failure he said “pushed our great party to a point of deep internal disillusionment.”
Muhammad said the PDP’s recent legal battles were not acts of rebellion but of redemption. “When any political party begins to disregard its own constitution and laws, it loses the very soul that holds it together,” he declared. He praised the Federal High Court judgment that reaffirmed party discipline, describing it as a “wake-up call” to return to the rule of law and democratic integrity.
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He told the newly constituted Board that their appointment was a call to moral duty, not a reward for loyalty. “This is not a prize for allegiance but a sacred trust,” he said. “You must speak truth to power, defend justice, and ensure that the PDP remains a home for all Nigerians.”
The Acting Chairman admitted that the party’s decline began long before its 2015 electoral defeat, citing the abandonment of zoning principles and unchecked ambition as early signs of decay. However, he called the present moment “a second chance to rebuild,” pledging transparency, fairness, and strict adherence to the constitution in all party affairs.
Muhammad warned that the era of impunity was over, stressing that “party autonomy cannot mean lawlessness.” He said internal reforms would be anchored on constitutional order and respect for judicial authority, vowing to rebuild public trust in the PDP as “the moral voice of Nigeria’s democracy.”
He concluded with a rallying call for unity and reform, urging party members to rise above personal interests and restore the PDP’s place as a national institution of integrity and hope.
“Let it be written,” he said, “that when the PDP stood at the edge of the precipice, men and women of goodwill rose to pull it back. Together, we can heal our party, rebuild trust, and restore the PDP as the true hope of Nigeria’s democratic future.”
