‎Tension as Makinde, Bala Mohammed, Turaki storm PDP secretariat in Abuja

The crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) escalated on Tuesday, November 18, as Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, alongside the newly-elected National Chairman, Tanimu Turaki, stormed the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
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‎Their arrival intensified tensions, prompting security operatives to fire teargas to disperse crowds around Wadata Plaza and prevent clashes.
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‎The Mobile Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the Department of State Services (DSS) had been stationed at the secretariat since 5:00 a.m. to maintain order.
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‎Earlier, a faction loyal to Nyesom Wike and Samuel Anyanwu, reportedly expelled by the party over alleged anti-party activities, had taken over the secretariat around 8:00 a.m. Samuel Anyanwu, National Secretary of the Wike faction, convened a meeting of the Board of Trustees (BoT), which was later attended by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, at about 11:10 a.m.
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‎The pro-Turaki group, following resolutions at last weekend’s PDP national convention in Ibadan, sought to assert control through a scheduled meeting of the newly elected National Working Committee (NWC). Security was deployed to prevent protests or attempts to reclaim the secretariat by the rival faction.
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‎As of the filing of this report, both factions remained inside the building under tight security, while members of the PDP Press Corps, who had been forced to leave earlier, relocated for safety.
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‎Governors Ahmadu Fintiri and Caleb Muftwang had earlier rejected the expulsions of Wike, Anyanwu, and others, highlighting the deepening divisions within the party.
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