A major confrontation is expected today at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national secretariat in Abuja as two rival factions prepare to hold separate meetings at the same venue.
The newly elected leadership led by Taminu Turaki has vowed to challenge the faction headed by Muhammed Abdulrahman, which is believed to be aligned with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. Both camps have announced high-level meetings scheduled for today at Wadata Plaza.
The Abdulrahman group called emergency meetings of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT), while the Turaki faction has fixed its inaugural National Working Committee (NWC) meeting for almost the same time.
Turaki, who met with the FCT Commissioner of Police on Monday, said his team is ready to resist any attempt to disrupt their gathering. He insisted that members of the opposing faction were expelled at the Ibadan convention and no longer belong to the party.
He said the outgoing leadership was expected to hand over between December 1 and December 8, noting that the Damagum-led tenure officially ends on December 8.
Turaki said the inaugural meeting would involve founding members, governors, National Assembly members, BoT members, state chairmen and other stakeholders. He added that the police had been notified to prevent any breakdown of order.
He dismissed the NEC and BoT notices issued by the Anyanwu-led camp, stating that decisions of the national convention override all others.
According to him, the new leadership will access the party secretariat today “with or without police assistance,” adding that anyone occupying their offices without consent is an interloper.
The Abdulrahman faction’s notice, signed by Samuel Anyanwu, set the BoT meeting for 11 a.m. and the NEC meeting for 2 p.m., both at Wadata Plaza.
The Ibadan convention, where Wike, Anyanwu and others were expelled, proceeded despite conflicting court orders. Multiple rulings from courts in Abuja and Oyo had issued differing directives on whether the PDP could hold the convention.
Fresh details also emerged about how Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and other party leaders coordinated the expulsion of Wike, Anyanwu and their allies. Sources said some governors, including Ahmadu Fintiri and Caleb Mutfwang, were deliberately kept unaware of the plan until it was moved on the convention floor.
The motion for expulsion, reportedly moved by Chief Bode George, caught several leaders by surprise. Sources described the process as a carefully executed strategy aimed at outmaneuvering Wike’s supporters and steering the party toward a new direction.
