The national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja has been sealed off by police officers following a violent confrontation between two opposing factions of the party on Tuesday.
According to reports on Wednesday, a heavy security presence was seen, and barbed wire had been placed around the entrance to stop any form of access to the building. None of the key figures from either faction were present at the party’s secretariat, leaving only a few officers standing guard.
Despite the barricade, a prominent member of the faction loyal to Kabiru Turaki criticised the police action, insisting that the group would continue to access what he described as their rightful office, adding that no attempt to block them would succeed.
The conflict escalated sharply on Tuesday when rival camps confronted each other at the secretariat. Security operatives had earlier positioned themselves around the facility as Samuel Anyanwu and others aligned with Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike declared they would not vacate the premises. Tensions heightened when Turaki arrived at the location with Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, and other newly elected executives of the PDP.
The situation deteriorated rapidly, forcing the police to fire teargas after supporters of Anyanwu attempted to prevent Turaki’s group from entering the building. Turaki later stated that violence could have erupted if not for the restraint shown by his supporters, and he described how more than 50 teargas canisters were launched at them. He insisted, however, that the group remained determined to press on with its mission.
Turaki later announced on Tuesday that he had officially assumed office as the national chairman of the PDP, following hours of confrontation at the secretariat. Addressing journalists after gaining access to his office, he explained that the day’s events were part of a broader struggle with individuals he described as renegades expelled during the party’s national convention in Ibadan.
He alleged that the opposing faction arrived at the secretariat with armed thugs, but he claimed his group was able to withstand the disruption and secure control of the building. According to him, he has now fully taken his place as the elected leader of the party.
The unfolding drama follows the PDP’s national convention held in Ibadan between November 15 and 16, 2025, an event that itself was marked by conflicting court rulings—one permitting the convention and another ordering that it be halted. At the convention, Anyanwu, Wike, former Ekiti governor Ayodele Fayose, and several others were expelled over accusations of anti-party activities. In response, Anyanwu and his group dismissed the Ibadan exercise as a “jamboree” and unlawful, and subsequently announced their own expulsion of Turaki, Makinde, Mohammed, and their allies.
What You Should Know
The escalating tension within the PDP reflects one of the party’s most significant leadership disputes in recent years, fuelled by conflicting court rulings, factional suspensions, and power tussles at the national level.
The sealing of the secretariat by the police highlights the gravity of the crisis, as both factions continue to insist on their legitimacy and claim control of the party’s structure.
