Tension At Wadata Plaza As Rival PDP Factions Storm Secretariat Amid Heavy Security

There is heightened tension at the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Abuja, as two rival factions claiming leadership of the party moved to hold parallel meetings at the same venue.

Heavily armed security operatives cordoned off major sections around Wadata Plaza on Tuesday, anticipating clashes between loyalists of Senator Samuel Anyanwu and the newly elected National Working Committee led by Tanimu Turaki.

Members of the Anyanwu-led National Working Committee were the first to arrive at the secretariat on Tuesday morning.

Speaking to journalists shortly after settling into his office, Anyanwu declared that he remains the substantive National Secretary of the party until December, stressing that no leadership announcement or convention outcome could invalidate his tenure.

He brushed aside reports of his expulsion by the Turaki group, insisting that due process had not been followed.

Responding to questions about whether he had invited the security operatives stationed outside the premises, Anyanwu confirmed that he had.

According to him, it is standard practice for the PDP to request the presence of security agencies whenever major party meetings are scheduled.

He added that the security operatives were also positioned to handle any “intruders,” a comment widely interpreted as a warning to the Turaki-led exco, which had also summoned its own emergency meeting at the same national headquarters.

The Turaki-led leadership had, on Monday, written to the police to alert them of what they described as plans by expelled officers to disrupt activities at the party secretariat.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has elected Kabiru Turaki (SAN), the former minister of special duties and intergovernmental affairs, as its new national chairman at its ongoing national convention.

Turaki’s emergence at the convention, which was being held in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, where delegates from 17 states in the country cast their votes to elect national officers.

The new PDP national chairman was a minister under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

At the ongoing convention, the party had earlier announced the expulsion of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike. The PDP suspended Wike, along with the former governor of Ekiti, Ayodele Fayose, and the former national secretary of the party, Samuel Anyanwu.

The motion for the expulsion of the party leaders was moved by Olabode George, the former national vice chairman of the PDP. His motion was supported by Samaila Burga, the PDP chairman in Bauchi state.

Others who were expelled included the PDP’s national legal adviser, Adeyemi Ajibade (SAN), AbdulRahman Mohammed, George Turner, Dan Orbih, Umar Bature, Austin Nwachukwu, Mao Chuambuwa, and Abraham Ammah.

However, the expulsion of Wike and others has been rejected by the PDP have been rejected by Governor Ahmadu Fintiri and Caleb Mutfwang of Adamawa and Plateau states.

Governor Mutfwang, in a statement, distanced himself from the motion seeking the expulsion of the PDP leaders. Mutfwang, through his director of press and public affairs, Gyang Bere, said that the development did not reflect his position.

According to Vanguard, the governor explained that the motion was never discussed at the PDP governor’s forum, nor was it tabled at the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting. He stressed that such a move would be counter-productive as the PDP was trying to be stabilized and that the expulsion could further polarize the party rather than uniting it.

Also, Adamawa Governor Fintiri distanced himself from the expulsion of Wike, adding that he strongly believes that the decision was not in the best interest of the PDP and that such a decision would further polarize the party.

Governor Fintiri reiterated that he remains a faithful PDP member and that he would not be part of anything that would further polarize the party. He added that “I believe that peace and reconciliation are the only ways forward for our great party.”

The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed the party’s national convention held in Ibadan on Saturday, describing the exercise as illegal and its outcomes a nullity.

In a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Kenneth Yowika, the party commended the Independent National Electoral Commission for staying away from the gathering, noting that the commission’s refusal to attend aligned with the rule of law.

Yowika said, “INEC’s absence shows adherence to democratic principles and respect for subsisting court orders.”

The Rivers PDP insisted that the convention was conducted in brazen violation of two Federal High Court orders that barred the exercise, despite a contrary ruling from an Ibadan High Court allowing it to proceed.

The party frowned at what it called the “flagrant disregard for judicial authority,” noting that the organisers went ahead to elect new national officers and dissolve some state executives.

According to Yowika, “The convention is a sham. You cannot ignore valid Federal High Court judgments and expect the outcome to stand.”

Expressing optimism that the courts would eventually invalidate the event, the Rivers PDP urged members to remain calm and rely on the judicial process already in motion.

The statement read, “The ill-advised convention cannot withstand legal scrutiny as it is already sub judice at the Court of Appeal. We rest our faith solely on the judiciary and urge all members to do the same.”