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Signs strongly indicate that a major confrontation will unfold today at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Secretariat in Abuja.
The newly elected national leadership, headed by Alhaji Taminu Turaki, vowed yesterday to directly confront the faction led by Muhammed Abdulrahman.
Both factions have announced high-level meetings scheduled for today at the Wadata Plaza national secretariat.
The Abdulrahman group, which is believed to be loyal to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, fixed emergency meetings of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the Board of Trustees (BoT) for today, while the Turaki bloc plans to hold its inaugural meeting.
Both events are expected to take place at the same venue and around the same time.
Turaki visited the FCT Commissioner of Police yesterday alongside other party leaders.
He insisted that his team is fully prepared to stand up to anyone who attempts to disrupt their gathering.
He maintained that members of the rival camp are “no longer members of the PDP,” stressing that their expulsion at the Ibadan convention remains valid.
According to him, the newly elected NWC members are ready to “lay down their lives” to protect the party’s mandate and uphold Nigeria’s democracy.
He said the outgoing leadership, based on the party’s prior timetable, ought to have handed over between December 1 and December 8, as the Damagum-led tenure officially expires on December 8.
Turaki told journalists that the police were notified ahead of their planned gathering, which will be the first since the Ibadan national convention.
He dismissed the parallel BoT and NEC notices issued by the Anyanwu faction, saying those behind the notices have been expelled from the party.
He emphasised that the National Convention remains the highest authority in the party’s internal affairs and that its decisions override all others.
He stated that the police were informed to help prevent any breach of peace.
Turaki declared that the new leadership will access the national secretariat today whether the police assist them or not.
He described anyone occupying PDP offices without their authorisation as an interloper.
He affirmed that they will open the offices and begin performing the duties for which they were duly elected.
Turaki added that the Commissioner of Police assured them of lawful protection.
He said the leadership will arrive by 10 a.m., with him leading personally.
The Abdulrahman faction, through a notice signed by the “expelled” National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, announced that the BoT meeting will be held at 11 a.m., and the NEC will meet at 2 p.m., both at Wadata Plaza.
The Ibadan convention, where Wike, Anyanwu and others were expelled, proceeded despite conflicting court rulings on its validity.
On 11 October, Justice James Omotosho ordered that the status quo be maintained in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025, filed by party officials from Imo, Abia and the Southsouth.
On 31 October, Justice Omotosho ruled that preparations for the convention should be halted until the PDP complies with its constitution, the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act.
He also restrained INEC from monitoring the convention until the party complies with legal requirements.
On 5 November, Justice Ladiran Akintola of the Oyo State High Court issued an ex parte order permitting the PDP to proceed with the convention.
However, on 11 November, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued an interim injunction stopping the PDP from going ahead with the convention.
The order followed a suit by former Jigawa governor Sule Lamido, who claimed he was prevented from obtaining a form to contest the chairmanship position.
On 13 November, Justice Akintola renewed his earlier order, again allowing the PDP to hold the convention.
On 14 November, Justice Lifu delivered judgment in Lamido’s suit, ordering that the PDP must not hold the convention unless Lamido is allowed to participate in the chairmanship race.
Fresh details also emerged yesterday about how Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and other senior party figures coordinated the expulsion of Wike, Anyanwu and others during the national convention.
Sources revealed that Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, who chaired the planning committee, and Plateau State Governor Caleb Maftwang were deliberately excluded from the plan.
According to the sources, the organisers feared that Fintiri, a close ally of Wike, might obstruct the plan or withdraw from the event if he was informed earlier.
The motion for expulsion, moved by Chief Bode George, reportedly shocked both governors.
Sources said they quickly distanced themselves because they were completely unaware of the plan until the motion was raised.
The convention was described as a “carefully choreographed operation” aimed at outmanoeuvring Wike’s supporters and steering the party towards a new direction.
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