A showdown is anticipated today within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following plans by a caretaker committee aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to reopen the party’s national secretariat at Wadata Plaza, Abuja, with police support on Monday.
The planned move has raised fears of renewed clashes, given the deepening leadership crisis and past confrontations over control of the secretariat.
Speaking on Thursday after a closed-door meeting with officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the national secretary of the Wike-backed faction, Samuel Anyanwu, said the group would formally take over the PDP national headquarters on Monday.
The looming takeover is the latest flashpoint in a protracted power tussle within the opposition party. The crisis pits the Wike-backed 13-member caretaker committee against a rival faction led by former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki (SAN), which enjoys the backing of several PDP governors, including Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State.
Turaki’s camp has continued to assert the legitimacy of the PDP national convention held in Ibadan on November 15, 2025. However, that position suffered a setback following a ruling by the Federal High Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, which overturned the convention’s outcome.
Previous attempts by both factions to assert control over Wadata Plaza have ended in confrontations, forcing security agencies, including the police, to intervene to restore calm.
Confirming the latest development, the publicity secretary of the caretaker committee, Jogudo Mohammed, told journalists that security agencies had been directed to facilitate access to the secretariat, citing the Federal High Court judgment in Ibadan as the legal basis for the action.
“Once the secretariat has been fumigated, the committee intends to resume activities there and proceed with convention-related engagements,” Mohammed said.
With tensions still high and rival factions standing their ground, party members and observers fear that Monday’s planned reopening could further escalate the PDP’s internal crisis unless urgent reconciliation efforts are made.
