A major confrontation broke out on Tuesday at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national secretariat in Abuja as the leadership tussle within the party escalated into a physical standoff involving the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed.
The clash followed the PDP national convention held in Ibadan over the weekend, where Kabiru Turaki was elected national chairperson. The convention also expelled Wike, the factional chair Mohammed Abdulrahman, and several of their allies. Wike’s group has dismissed the convention’s outcome, insisting it violated a court order halting the exercise.
Amid the dispute, both the Turaki-led faction and the Abdulrahman-led camp scheduled separate National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees meetings for Tuesday at the party headquarters, drawing their leaders and supporters to the same venue.
Tension rose sharply when Makinde and Mohammed arrived and positioned their vehicles to prevent Wike’s convoy from accessing the compound. Their action triggered a crowd surge as supporters from both sides tried to force entry, prompting police officers to fire multiple rounds of teargas to disperse the gathering and prevent a breakdown of order.
Wike eventually managed to get inside the compound but stayed in his vehicle while the two governors insisted he had no authority to be there. They approached the FCT Commissioner of Police, Dantawaye Miller, urging him to order the minister out.
“He entered here illegally. Why is he here?” Governor Mohammed demanded angrily.
The police commissioner declined to eject Wike immediately, explaining that the exit route was blocked by the governors’ convoys.
“We want the cars to move. If that is done, I will tell him to leave,” he said.
Still unsettled and teary-eyed from the teargas, Mohammed insisted their presence was not about party politics but about protecting democratic procedures.
“We are not here today because of PDP. We are here to defend this democracy. If he leaves, we will leave,” he maintained.
The dramatic scene highlighted the deepening division within the PDP, with both factions laying claim to the party’s leadership and attempting to control its national secretariat. The incident adds to the mounting concerns over the party’s internal stability as it struggles to navigate one of its most intense leadership crises in years.
