Demonstrators Demand Turaki’s Removal as Security Operatives Secure Wadata Plaza Amid Intensifying Party Leadership Crisis
A major escalation unfolded on Tuesday at the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, as supporters of the Nyesom Wike-aligned faction took control of the surroundings of Wadata Plaza, further deepening the party’s ongoing leadership turmoil.
Large numbers of women and youth groups trooped to the area early in the morning, brandishing placards calling for the removal of the party’s National Chairman, Tanimu Turaki, SAN. Their messages were direct and forceful, with inscriptions such as “No to Turaki” and “Turaki must go,” underscoring the faction’s firm rejection of his emergence as chairman.
Turaki, a former Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, was elected National Chairman during a controversial convention held on Saturday. The exercise was shunned by the Wike-led bloc, which described the process as illegitimate and unacceptable. The fallout from that convention has now spilled forcefully into the party’s national secretariat.
By 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday, the Wike-backed faction—led by the recently removed Acting National Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed—arrived at the secretariat with a large contingent of armed police operatives. The security personnel immediately took strategic positions around the building and along adjoining streets, creating a heavily fortified atmosphere around the party’s administrative nerve centre.
The show of force effectively enabled the faction to take control of the secretariat premises ahead of scheduled executive meetings announced by both rival factions. While the Wike-aligned group secured early dominance, members of the faction loyal to Kabiru Turaki had yet to arrive at the time of this report, further highlighting the growing fracture within the PDP’s national leadership.
The ongoing struggle underscores a rapidly intensifying battle for control of the party’s hierarchy, with both groups seeking legitimacy and authority in the wake of a disputed national convention. As tensions mount, stakeholders and observers continue to watch closely, anticipating the next developments in what has become one of the most significant internal crises the party has faced in recent years.
0 Comments