PDP: Turaki, Wike camps clash at party secretariat

A major confrontation erupted on Tuesday at the Wuse Zone 5 headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as members loyal to newly elected National Chairman,  Tanimu Turaki (SAN), clashed with the faction aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. The violent scenes triggered panic, disrupted traffic, and left the party’s […]

A major confrontation erupted on Tuesday at the Wuse Zone 5 headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as members loyal to newly elected National Chairman,  Tanimu Turaki (SAN), clashed with the faction aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

The violent scenes triggered panic, disrupted traffic, and left the party’s national secretariat in chaos for hours.

The incident unfolded as both factions arrived simultaneously for separate meetings earlier scheduled at the PDP headquarters.

The Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC), accompanied by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, forced their way into the secretariat after security operatives initially blocked their entry.

The move triggered fierce resistance from the Wike-aligned camp, leading to fistfights, teargas, and police gunshots into the air as officers attempted to control the situation.

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Turaki seeks international intervention

Following the confrontation, Turaki accused Wike of mobilising thugs with police backing to attack party officials.

In an emotional address, he demanded urgent intervention from the international community, including U.S. President Donald Trump,

Turaki warned that “anti-democratic forces” were threatening Nigeria’s democratic survival.

“We are ready to lay down our lives to protect democracy and defend our mandate,” Turaki said.

Turaki said it is not only the genocide against Christians that the international community should be worried about Nigeria, but added that anti-democratic forces were threatening the existence of democracy in Nigeria.

“I  want to call on President Donald Trump, because what is at stake is not only genocide against Nigerian Christians, he should come and save democracy in Nigeria, democracy is under threat in Nigeria.

“I am calling on all other developed nations, all advanced democracies, come and save Nigeria, come and save democracy.

“I cannot understand how a serving minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, will be leading armed thugs and with the active corporation of the police, to come and create mayhem in the headquarters of our party.

“I said it before now, and I am saying it again.  We are ready to lay down our lives to protect our office, to protect our democracy and our mandate.

“The international community is seeing the threat that we are going through, the threat that democracy is going through, they should come and save us,” he added.

He alleged a coordinated attempt to destroy the party. He said he had earlier petitioned the FCT Commissioner of Police, who reportedly assured him of protection ahead of the NWC meeting.

Calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to restrain the FCT minister, Turaki insisted that Wike’s faction had no legal standing.

He added that he had resumed office as national chairman and would continue the fight to reclaim the party from “expelled members.”

 

How the tension built up

Tensions escalated after both factions scheduled meetings for the same day.

Samuel Anyanwu, who was expelled last week in Ibadan as the party’s national secretary,  but still backed by the Wike camp, had arrived early, addressed newsmen in his office, and dismissed the Ibadan convention that produced Turaki.

Anyanwu argued that PDP conventions must be accredited and supervised by INEC, accusing the Ibadan organisers of assembling “roadside people in PDP uniforms.”

He added that his office remains valid until December 8 and vowed to proceed with the scheduled NEC and BoT meetings.

As he prepared for the meetings, Turaki, Makinde, Bala Mohammed, and NWC members stormed the secretariat.

After initially being stopped by security personnel, they forced their way in, confronting the Wike faction in the NEC Hall.

Turaki later told newsmen that they postponed their meeting due to the hostile environment but insisted that those challenging the new leadership were no longer recognised members of the party.

The situation escalated significantly when Wike himself arrived moments after the Turaki group attempted to leave.

On sighting the FCT minister’s vehicle, Makinde, Bala Mohammed, and Turaki returned to the premises, refusing to leave unless Wike was also evicted.

It was at this juncture that security operatives ordered everyone, including newsmen, to vacate the secretariat, but the governors stood their ground.

The standoff lasted over two hours, with Turaki’s group remaining inside Bala Mohammed’s vehicle while Wike stayed in his. Pundits have expressed concerns that the development only deepened the sense of imminent breakdown within the party.

Violence rocks Wadata Plaza

The clash intensified as police officers attached to PDP governors exchanged blows with FCT-command officers deployed to the secretariat.

Inside the NEC Hall, supporters of both factions also fought openly, leading to chaos and injuries.

Police had fired shots into the air and released multiple teargas canisters, forcing members to scale the fence to escape.

Daily Trust reports that vehicles around Wuse Zone 5 were trapped, as supporters, thugs, police officers, and armoured vehicles filled the area.

At least 15 police Hilux trucks and two Armored Personnel Carriers were deployed.

Governors, NWC members, and supporters were also teargassed as police struggled to restore order.

 

A new PDP will soon be born  – Makinde

Amid the turmoil, Governor Seyi Makinde told newsmen that the National Convention, being the party’s highest decision-making body, had legitimately produced the new NWC, and that nothing would stop its inauguration.

He described the crisis as the PDP’s “darkest moment,” but predicted a rebirth for the party and the nation’s democracy.

“When the day is about to break, the night is darkest. A new PDP is emerging,” the governor said.

 

Wike camp announces mass expulsions

Following the fracas, the Wike faction announced the expulsion of several high-profile party leaders, including Governors Makinde (Oyo), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), and Dauda Lawal (Zamfara).

The faction also announced the expulsion of BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara; new national chairman, Turaki; and the deputy national chairman (South), Taofeek Arapaja.

They also dissolved PDP state executives in Bauchi, Oyo, Zamfara, Yobe, Lagos, Edo, and Ekiti.

The communiqué from their “103rd NEC meeting,” read by Anyanwu, accused those expelled of anti-party activities, violation of court orders, and tarnishing the party’s reputation.

The faction also demanded that Chief Ali Odefa, refunds all salaries and allowances received after his 2024 expulsion.

Anyanwu said, “NEC expressed deep concern over the actions of some members who violated subsisting court orders by organising and attending a purported and unauthorised convention.

“This act triggered confusion, factionalisation, and the defection of governors and legislators nationwide.

 

“NEC reaffirmed that the PDP draws its legitimacy from strict adherence to its Constitution and that of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, not from impunity.

“NEC received the report of the Acting National Chairman, Hon. Abdulrahman Mohammed, detailing breaches of Articles 58(1) and 59(1), including anti-party activities, disobedience to court orders, and conduct bringing the Party into disrepute.”

 

Democracy under siege –  ADC

Reacting to the events, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) condemned what it called the “violent and illegal takeover” of the PDP secretariat by “agents of the APC-led federal government.”

The ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, accused the Tinubu administration of attempting to impose a one-party state through intimidation and “acts of terror.”

The party warned that if government agents could violently intervene in opposition politics, “nothing stops them from invading labour unions, the press, or student movements.”

The party called for international attention and an independent investigation into the role of security agencies during the fracas.

ADC described the incident as the most serious threat to multiparty democracy since 1999, warning that Nigeria was heading towards authoritarianism unless urgent action was taken.

 

PDP’s call for int’l intervention reckless, unpatriotic  – APC

Reacting, the ruling APC in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Barrister Felix Morka, condemned the call by Tanimu Turaki (SAN), for foreign powers to intervene in Nigeria’s internal affairs.

Turaki, while addressing newsmen  amid the escalating crisis within the PDP, appealed to global actors to intervene to protect the nation’s democracy.

But the APC described Turaki’s remarks as “reckless, unpatriotic, and a dangerous threat to national security and sovereignty.”

The APC said Turaki who emerged chairman barely 72 hours earlier through a factional process,  appeared “desperate, confused, incoherent, and evidently overwhelmed” by the turmoil tearing apart the PDP.

The APC argued that rather than embarking on a peace-building mission to reconcile warring interests within his party, Turaki’s first major action was to invite foreign interference into Nigeria.

“No leader with an ounce of patriotism calls for foreign invasion of his country as a solution to an internal party crisis. Turaki’s proposition is as shameless as it is dangerous,” the ruling party said.

The APC noted that even during the PDP’s 16-year rule, when the party was often accused of suppressing opposition groups, there was never a call by any political actor for foreign intervention in the affairs of Nigerian parties.

The party said Turaki’s comments reveal the PDP’s “complete failure of internal democracy” as well as its “embarrassing disintegration.”

The ruling party, however, urged the international community to disregard what it termed a disgraceful and desperate appeal, describing it as a diversionary tactic by a “party in terminal decline.”