Isaac Sameul
Tension and chaos engulfed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national secretariat, Wadata Plaza, on Tuesday as rival party factions loyal to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and newly elected National Chairman, Tanimu Turaki, clashed over control of the party headquarters.
The confrontation saw Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), alongside Turaki, tear-gassed by police operatives after being blocked from entering the secretariat by supporters of suspended National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
Security had been heavily reinforced around the building, with officers from the Mobile Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the Department of State Services (DSS) stationed at entrances and strategic points to forestall any breakdown of law and order.
The takeover of the party’s secretariat by security agents was ahead of the parallel meeting reportedly scheduled for the same venue by the faction that held its national convention in Ibadan at the weekend.
The unrest erupted when Turaki and the governors arrived at Wadata Plaza for the inaugural meeting of the Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC), elected at the controversial Ibadan national convention over the weekend.
They were met by Anyanwu’s loyalists, who attempted to prevent their entry into the premises. As tensions rose, police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Senator Anyanwu, backed by Wike, had earlier gained access to the secretariat and maintained that he remains the duly elected national secretary until his tenure ends in December.
He said the heavy security presence was invited by his faction to prevent “intruders” from disrupting party activities.
Meanwhile, Turaki said his faction had gone to the police for protection in advance of the scheduled meeting, insisting that the national convention that elected him overrides all other party decisions.
He told newsmen that all the party stakeholders and organs, including the governors, BoT members, and founding fathers, were already invited.
He, however, said that the party leadership had seen a meeting notice issued by the embattled PDP National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, noting that Anyanwu and his group were no longer PDP members.
According to Turaki, the national convention decision overrides every other decision taken by any organ of a party.
“Our national convention has taken a decision to expel these elements from the party. They are no longer members of our party,” he told reporters.
Makinde and Mohammed later briefed journalists on the tense situation, recounting the teargas deployed by police and the resistance they encountered from supporters of the Samuel Anyanwu faction.
The standoff ended dramatically with the arrival of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, whose presence allowed the gate to be thrown open.
As at time of filing this report, the police ordered all party members and supporters to vacate the PDP secretariat to restore calm at the premises.
