Chaos at PDP headquarters as Wike-backed faction seizes control
By Jeffrey Agbo
Tension flared on Monday at the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Wadata Plaza in Abuja, as loyalists of the factional Acting National Chairman, Mohammed Abdulrahman, stormed the complex demanding the ouster of the Umar Damagum-led National Working Committee (NWC).
Chanting solidarity songs, the protesters insisted that Damagum and his team vacate the secretariat immediately, accusing them of poor leadership and mismanagement of party affairs.
Damagun and the national publicity secretary, Debo Ologunagba and others in their own faction were not on ground at the time of the protest.
Abdulrahman’s emergence as the party’s acting national chairman last week deepened the PDP’s internal crisis, following the suspension of the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade, for one month.
In a parallel development, a faction aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, met at a separate venue in Abuja, where it announced the suspension of the Damagum-led NWC, further intensifying the leadership tussle.
Security operatives were swiftly deployed to the secretariat to maintain order as both factions laid claim to control of the party’s headquarters.
Amid the standoff, the Abdulrahman-led faction reportedly took over the National Chairman’s office within the complex.
Addressing journalists from the office, Abdulrahman pledged to reconcile aggrieved members and rebuild the party ahead of the next general elections.
“We are ready to work in the interest of our dear party,” he said.
He assured that his leadership would focus on unity and repositioning the PDP to reclaim its status as Nigeria’s leading opposition party.
, Wadata Plaza in Abuja, as loyalists of the factional Acting National Chairman, Mohammed Abdulrahman, stormed the complex demanding the ouster of the Umar Damagum-led National Working Committee (NWC).){kind=link}