PDP Crisis: Turaki Faction Says Wadata Plaza Standoff ‘Shameful’

The spokesperson for the Turaki faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ini Ememobong, has described Tuesday’s confrontation at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja as “shameful” and a dangerous sign of how far internal party conflicts have escalated.

The PDP secretariat at Wadata Plaza descended into chaos on Tuesday after supporters of rival factions clashed over control of the complex. Security operatives fired multiple rounds of teargas to disperse the crowd, forcing several party members, many of them elderly, to flee for safety.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Ememobong, who emerged as factional national publicity secretary at the party’s recent convention in Ibadan, said the incident revealed a worrying deterioration in Nigeria’s democratic culture.

“It’s very shameful and a pity that this is happening after six election cycles,” he said. “Democratic norms should be valued, but every election cycle seems to be getting worse.”

He questioned the intentions behind the parallel meeting convened by the Nyesom Wike-led bloc, insisting that a National Executive Committee meeting must be monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be legitimate.

According to him, a minority group within the party was attempting to impose its will on the majority, heightening tensions and putting loyal party members in harm’s way.

“People could have been killed today,” he warned. “The canisters were shot directly at people. Many elderly people have comorbidities. Some are asthmatic, some are hypertensive. When it gets to the point where it looks as though all the ruling party wants is blood to water democracy, then so be it.”

Ememobong added that the clash occurred “less than 400 metres from where the president is,” accusing federal authorities of allowing an opposition party to be stifled.

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He also reacted to court rulings connected to the dispute, noting that while no court has jurisdiction over the internal affairs of a political party, the PDP would abide by existing judgments until the appellate courts provide clarity.

Tuesday’s standoff saw supporters of Samuel Anyanwu, national secretary of the Wike-aligned faction, block the arrival of governors Seyi Makinde and Bala Mohammed, who accompanied the Turaki group. Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory, reportedly stayed in his vehicle for more than 30 minutes as the confrontation intensified.

Hours later, Turaki declared he had taken control of the secretariat, while a pro-Wike NEC meeting announced the expulsion of several key figures, including Makinde, Mohammed, Dauda Lawal, Bode George, Adolphus Wabara and Turaki, and dissolved six state working committees.

The escalation followed Monday’s Ibadan convention, which had earlier expelled 11 members, among them Wike, Ayo Fayose and Anyanwu, for alleged anti-party activities.

Despite the deepening divisions, Ememobong insisted the crisis must be resolved within legal and democratic frameworks to prevent what he called “electoral authoritarianism.”