PDP faction loyal to Wike takes over National Secretariat amid parallel meetings

The Nyesom Wike-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has seized control of the party’s national secretariat at Wadata Plaza, Abuja, ahead of a planned parallel meeting by the Turaki-led faction.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Turaki faction, which emerged from the Ibadan national convention over the weekend, had scheduled its inaugural National Working Committee (NWC) meeting at 10 a.m., while the Abdulrahman-led faction called for emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) meetings at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively, at the same location.

NAN reports that Abdulrahman Mohammed, factional National Chairman, was already at the secretariat, which had previously been locked, with armed security personnel stationed at strategic points. Officers from the Mobile Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the Department of State Services (DSS) were deployed to prevent any law and order breakdown as both factions laid claim to offices within the premises. Security patrols were also active along roads leading to the secretariat.

The suspended National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, had gained access and was overseeing accreditation ahead of the ongoing 103-member NEC meeting. Meanwhile, anti-Turaki protesters carrying placards reading “No to Turaki” and “Turaki must go” performed to the beat of drummers outside the premises.

Speaking to journalists before the BoT meeting, Anyanwu described the security arrangements as standard procedure for NEC or BoT meetings.

“Anytime we’re having a BoT meeting or NEC meeting, we usually invite the security because of the people who are around, so they don’t embarrass our members… I wrote to all the security agencies on the 14th of November, 2025, that we are going to have a BoT and NEC meeting,” he said.

Anyanwu insisted that the Ibadan convention lacked legitimacy. “On what premise are you expelling us? What platform are you using to expel us? The convention that never held… As a matter of fact, there was no convention anywhere. It’s very clear that any convention must be monitored and supervised by INEC. These things were not done,” he stated.

He added that only 17 states reportedly attended the convention, with delegates allegedly “picked by the roadside and given PDP uniforms to occupy some state podiums.”

The standoff highlights the deepening crisis within the PDP as parallel leadership claims and factional disputes continue to unfold at the national secretariat.