Heavy security was deployed to the PDP headquarters in Abuja as rival factions loyal to Nyesom Wike and Seyi Makinde scheduled parallel meetings at the same venue.
Heavy security presence was recorded at the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party in Abuja on Tuesday as two opposing factions prepared to hold separate meetings, according to a report from PUNCH.
A video published by Symfoni showed armed police officers and patrol vehicles stationed at the entrance of the Wadata Plaza secretariat on Tuesday morning. The factional national secretary loyal to the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, Samuel Anyanwu, arrived early to assume control of the premises.
Speaking with reporters, Anyanwu insisted he remained the legitimate national secretary until his tenure ends in December. He confirmed inviting security personnel, saying, “It is the PDP’s usual practice to call in security personnel whenever a meeting of such magnitude is scheduled, in order to maintain law and order.” He added that the deployment was also to prevent “intruders” planning a parallel meeting.
The crisis deepened after factions loyal to Wike and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde announced separate National Executive Committee sessions following a disputed convention in Ibadan, which produced a new National Working Committee and expelled several Wike loyalists.
The Kabiru Turaki-led leadership also scheduled its own meeting at the same venue. Turaki told journalists, “Those expelled are no longer members of our party. We’ve reported their moves because we do not want any breach of peace,” warning that any unauthorized group would be treated as “interlopers.”