PDP Turmoil Escalates as Police Barricade National Secretariat in Abuja
Story: written by Daniel November 20,2025
The internal turmoil rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) intensified on Wednesday after security operatives shut down Wadata Plaza, the party’s national headquarters, in Abuja. Police officers mounted heavy security around the building, sealing the premises with barbed-wire barricades and preventing officials, workers, and visitors from gaining entry.
The closure comes less than 24 hours after a violent clash between two rival factions—one loyal to Nyesom Wike and Samuel Anyanwu, and the other aligned with Tanimu Turaki, the new national chairman backed by Governors Seyi Makinde and Bala Mohammed.
Both camps had scheduled separate National Working Committee (NWC) meetings at the headquarters, escalating tensions.
Amid the confrontation, the Wike-led group announced the suspension of Governors Bala Mohammed, Dauda Lawal, and Seyi Makinde, as well as elder statesman Bode George and other prominent party figures. Security officers had to intervene to prevent a full-scale breakdown of order as both sides reportedly brought in armed thugs to force their way into the secretariat.
Although Turaki’s NWC eventually secured access and shifted its meeting to Wednesday, security agencies later returned and sealed off the complex entirely.
Speaking to journalists, PDP National Publicity Secretary Ini Ememobong condemned the police action, alleging that governors, NWC members, and party supporters were attacked without cause. According to him, officers fired multiple rounds of tear gas, triggering chaos and resulting in several injuries.
He added that despite the intimidation, party members remained resolute, insisting that legitimate party leadership must function free from outside interference.
Ememobong further warned that the crisis goes beyond party politics, arguing that attempts to suppress the PDP threaten the very foundation of Nigeria’s democratic system. He accused the government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of enabling actions that endanger opposition politics, stressing that democracy cannot thrive where dissenting voices are silenced or weakened.
