Turaki, Anyanwu plan parallel meetings at PDP secretariat today

A thick cloud of uncertainty hangs over the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as two rival power blocs prepare to hold parallel meetings at the party’s national headquarters popularly known as Wadata Plaza, in Abuja today. The contending factions, one led by newly elected national chairman, Tanimu Turaki (SAN), and the other headed by expelled national […]

A thick cloud of uncertainty hangs over the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as two rival power blocs prepare to hold parallel meetings at the party’s national headquarters popularly known as Wadata Plaza, in Abuja today.

The contending factions, one led by newly elected national chairman, Tanimu Turaki (SAN), and the other headed by expelled national secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, have scheduled parallel meetings at the same venue, raising fears of confrontation and possible clash.

The dramatic escalation marks the latest chapter in a lingering internal crisis that has split the PDP into two warring camps.

Daily Trust reports that the Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) is  backed by most governors, the Board of Trustees (BoT), and mainstream party structures while the Anyanwu led faction is made up of expelled national officers, some former governors, and others loyal to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

The rivalry has crystallised into a full institutional struggle, with each faction claiming legitimacy and announcing suspension of members of the other.

 

A day of two meetings

In a formal notice signed by the new National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong Essien, the Turaki-led NWC invited governors (serving and former), BoT members, National Assembly caucuses, state chairmen, and ex-officio members to an emergency stakeholders’ meeting scheduled to begin 8am at the National Executive Committee (NEC) Hall.

According to the notice, the meeting is aimed at reviewing the conduct of the “successful” convention held in Ibadan, the same convention that birthed the new NWC and expelled some of the party’s once powerful figures.

But almost simultaneously, the Wike-aligned faction, whose key members were expelled at that same convention, issued its own notice, summoning both the Board of Trustees (BoT) and the National Executive Committee (NEC) to meet today at the same location.

The BoT meeting is slated for 11:00 am  while its NEC session is scheduled for 2pm. Both notices were signed by Senator Anyanwu, who insists he remains the PDP’s authentic national secretary.

This sets the stage for a direct confrontation, as both groups insist they will physically occupy the same building, use the same hall, and assert competing authority.

 

Security on high alert

The anxiety is not without precedent. Barely two weeks ago, security operatives sealed off the Wadata Plaza after intelligence reports warned of a possible violent clash between supporters of the two factions. The police intervention forced both groups to postpone earlier meetings.

To avoid a repeat scenario, Turaki, alongside senior NWC members, visited the FCT Commissioner of Police on Monday to alert him of their schedule and requested protection.

But Turaki went further, issuing one of the strongest warnings yet from the mainstream PDP leadership.

 

We’re ready for peace but prepared to defend ourselves  – Turaki

Addressing journalists after the meeting at the FCT Police Command, the new national chairman said while his group is committed to peace, it will not allow itself to be intimidated or unlawfully obstructed.

“We came to interface with the Commissioner of Police regarding the inaugural National Working Committee meeting of our party,” Turaki said.

“As law-abiding citizens, we duly notified the police because we want peace, and we want to ensure peace,” he added.

However, he quickly added a bold caveat, that “We shall go there prepared to defend ourselves, our party, our rights, and our democracy. The Nigerian Constitution gives us the right to defend our lives and our properties.”

Turaki insisted that the Wike-aligned faction lacks legitimacy, describing them as “people who, for all intents and purposes, are no longer members of this party.”

He said the Ibadan national convention, backed by the majority of party organs, had “expelled those now attempting to convene NEC and BoT meetings.”

He said, “Next to God in the management of a political party is the national convention. Its decisions override every other organ. The convention expelled them. They cannot preside over meetings of a party they no longer belong to.”

He further said, “We will reopen our offices, enter, and carry out our duties. Our meeting is 10am. I will be leading from the front, not the rear.”

The police commissioner, Turaki said, assured them of protection and promised to prevent any breach of public peace.

How the two factions emerged

The current rupture traces back to multiple legal battles, competing court orders, and unresolved leadership disputes within the PDP.

In October, the Federal High Court in Abuja halted the planned Ibadan convention following a suit by three senior party officials – Imo PDP chairman, Abia PDP chairman, and the South-South Zonal Secretary.

Justice James Omotosho had ruled that the convention violated the Electoral Act and the PDP constitution due to failure to hold valid congresses in at least 14 states.

In response, then, acting national chairman, Umar Damagum, convened an emergency NWC meeting that suspended four officers loyal to Wike for “gross indiscipline.”

Those suspended were Samuel Anyanwu (national secretary), Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN) ( legal adviser),  Okechukwu Osuoha (deputy legal adviser), Umar Bature (organising secretary).

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, at the time,  declared that their actions were inconsistent with party discipline.

 

Wike’s camp fires back

Within hours, the suspended officers retaliated, announcing the suspension of Damagum and five other national officers for alleged incompetence, financial misconduct, and anti-party activities.

They appointed Mohammed Abdulrahman (North Central Vice Chairman) as acting national chairman. Thus, the party effectively broke into two governments, each suspending the other.

 

Ibadan convention held

The convention eventually held in Ibadan after an Oyo High Court cleared it to proceed despite two counter-orders from Abuja.

At the convention, a new crop of NWC members was elected with Turaki emerging as chairman, while Nyesom

Wike, Ayodele Fayose, Samuel Anyanwu, Kamaldeen Ajibade, Austin Nwachukwu, and others were formally expelled.

Their offences, according to insiders, included alleged anti-party activities during and after the 2023 elections, attempts to destroy the party from within, moves to form a caretaker committee, alleged pressure for PDP to endorse President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term of office among others.

Multiple party leaders, including governors and BoT members, reportedly reached the conclusion that expulsion was the only way to prevent the PDP from being “hijacked or dismantled.”

Key reasons for expulsion, according to authoritative party sources included attempts to push PDP into supporting Tinubu in 2027.

Insiders say many governors were alarmed by intelligence that the Wike faction wanted the PDP to formally align with President Tinubu for the next general election.

A top party official told Daily Trust that “Wike wanted PDP to stand down in 2027 and allow Tinubu to run unopposed by the opposition. That was unacceptable. A national party cannot abandon its presidential ticket.”

He said governors and other PDP heavyweights with presidential ambitions reportedly resisted this fiercely.

Top sources said there were also moves to undermine internal elections, arguing that Wike and his loyalists deliberately obstructed congresses in several states, creating crises that later became the basis for lawsuits to stall the convention.

Daily Trust gathered that on the eve of the Ibadan convention, a marathon meeting involving PDP governors, BoT members, and NWC officials attempted to broker a truce. But the peace attempt collapsed around midnight.

The key sticking points were, whether to adopt a caretaker committee (Wike’s position), or to proceed with the Ibadan convention (governors’ position).

Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State and  Chairman of the NCOC, eventually announced that the stakeholders had resolved to hold the convention as scheduled.

Pundits say this was a decisive blow to the Wike camp, and the final step that led to the mass expulsions.

 

What today’s parallel meetings means for PDP

Analysts say the events at Wadata Plaza today may determine the future of the PDP, the control of its national secretariat, the legitimacy of the new NWC, the political fate of Nyesom Wike, and the direction of opposition politics ahead of the 2027 elections.

With both factions mobilising supporters and political heavyweights, police presence is expected to be heavy around Wuse Zone 5, the location of the PDP HQ.

Observers say if negotiations fail and both groups force their way into the secretariat, the tension could trigger confrontations that may push the PDP into a deeper crisis or an irreversible split.

For now, all eyes are on Wadata Plaza. Today may well decide whether the PDP survives as a united national party or moves closer to political implosion.