PDP HQ LOCKDOWN: HEAVY POLICE PRESENCE AS WIKE MAKINDE FACTIONS CLASH IN VIOLENT BATTLE FOR CONTROL – TEARGAS FIRED, GATES BOLTED

By Ogungbayi Beedee Adeyemi Adeyemi@ddnewsonline.com

Chaos engulfed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national secretariat at Wadata Plaza on Tuesday as rival factions backed by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde collided in a fistfight-fueled showdown, forcing police to fire teargas, lock gates, and deploy heavy reinforcements amid parallel National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings.

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The violent eruption turning the headquarters into a battlefield stemmed from a bitter leadership tug-of-war following the PDP’s fractured Ibadan convention on Saturday, where Makinde’s camp elected Kabiru Turaki as National Chairman and expelled Wike allies. Wike’s faction retaliated by storming the secretariat early, barricading it and announcing expulsions of Makinde, Bauchi’s Bala Mohammed, Zamfara’s Dauda Lawal, and elder statesman Bode George at a parallel NEC meeting.

Early Morning Wike-backed National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu and allies seized the building by 8 a.m., issuing notices for emergency NEC and Board of Trustees (BoT) meetings while Makinde-Mohammed Arrival (10:45 a.m.) Governors Seyi Makinde and Bala Mohammed, with Turaki and PDP bigwigs Adolphus Wabara and Udom Emmanuel, were blocked at the gates by Wike loyalists and police. Supporters scuffled, exchanging punches; police fired canisters to disperse crowds, shutting gates amid shouts of “interlopers Makinde, Mohammed, and Turaki “forced their way” into the NEC hall, driving out Wike’s group and postponing their inaugural NWC meeting to Wednesday.

Makinde declared defiantly: “We are ready to stay here for two weeks” to assert control. Turaki, who pre-alerted police on “fake flyers,” called rivals “no longer recognized.”

At their parallel NEC, Wike’s block led by acting Chairman Abdulrahman Mohammed expelled Makinde, Bala, Dauda Lawal, Bode George, Turaki, Adolphus Wabara, Udom Emmanuel, and others for “indiscipline.” They dissolved executives in Oyo, Bauchi, Ekiti, Zamfara, Edo, and Lagos, vowing to “end lawlessness.”

The communique read: “NEC affirms the era of indiscipline is over… With unity, discipline, and renewed purpose, the PDP will rebuild stronger.”

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Saturday’s Ibadan convention boycotted by Wike’s camp elected Turaki’s NWC and expelled Wike loyalists, including Anyanwu. Attendees included Makinde, Bala, Adamawa’s Ahmadu Fintiri, Plateau’s Caleb Mutfwang, and Zamfara’s Dauda Lawal. Wike’s allies decried it as “illegal,” scheduling counters to reclaim the secretariat.

This marks PDP’s deepest fracture since 2015, with four governors defecting to APC in 2025 alone.

FCT Police Commissioner Bennett Igwe deployed “massive” forces to “prevent breach of peace,” sealing gates post-teargas. Critics accuse bias toward Wike’s faction.

INEC and APC watch warily; PDP’s 2027 viability hangs in the balance.

DDNewsOnline