Tension at Wadata Plaza as Rival PDP Factions Storm Headquarters

Heavy security presence has been deployed to the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja as two rival factions prepare to hold separate meetings at the same venue, heightening tensions around the party’s ongoing leadership crisis.

Members of the Samuel Anyanwu-led National Working Committee arrived at the Wadata Plaza early on Monday, with Anyanwu declaring that he remains the party’s substantive National Secretary until his tenure formally expires in December.

Despite the dispute over control of the party’s structure, Anyanwu resumed at his office and moved ahead with preparations for his faction’s meeting.

Asked whether he was responsible for the security barricade outside the secretariat, Anyanwu confirmed that he requested the deployment.
He explained that it was standard procedure for the party to invite security agencies whenever top-level meetings were scheduled.

“It is the usual practice of the PDP to call in security personnel to maintain law and order whenever a meeting of this magnitude is about to take place,” he said.

Anyanwu added that the officers were also stationed to prevent disruptions.

He noted that security agents were prepared to deal with what he described as potential “intruders,” an apparent reference to the Kabiru Turaki-led executive committee, which had also announced plans to convene its own meeting at the same national secretariat.

The Turaki faction maintains it is the legitimate leadership following decisions reached at the party’s recent convention in Ibadan.

The Peoples Democratic Party has been engulfed in a deepening leadership crisis since the controversial national convention held in Ibadan between Saturday and Sunday.
Key developments include:

• 
  The convention, boycotted by several state chapters, produced Kabiru Turaki as national chairman and announced expulsions of top members, including Nyesom Wike, Ayodele Fayose, Samuel Anyanwu, and others for alleged anti-party activities.
• 
  Samuel Anyanwu insists his suspension is illegal and that his tenure as National Secretary remains valid until December, citing court orders he claims were ignored by the convention organisers.
• 
  The PDP dissolved party leadership in Imo, Abia, Enugu, Akwa Ibom and Rivers states, further widening internal divisions.
• 
  The longstanding rift involving Wike and the G5 governors continues to destabilise national cohesion within the party, with accusations of betrayal and parallel loyalties.
• 
  While some elders call for unity, others, led by figures like Bode George, have pushed for the expulsion of members they consider disloyal to the party’s collective interest.
  
• The conflict has now escalated into a full-blown battle for control of the national secretariat, with rival factions claiming authenticity, organising parallel meetings, and relying on security deployments to assert authority, leaving the PDP in one of its most fractious moments since 1999