PDP crisis: Tear gas rains as Wike, governors lock horns in 3-hour Abuja standoff

*Overlapping meeting schedules set off fresh struggle for control inside party

*Wike stays inside his vehicle as tear gas sweeps through PDP secretariat grounds

*Party leaders escalate their appeals to international community

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA – What was meant to be a routine political engagement at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday quickly descended into one of the most chaotic and emotionally charged confrontations the party has witnessed in years.

For nearly three hours, rival factions refused to give ground as police fired repeated rounds of tear gas, sending governors, party officials, staff and journalists scrambling in confusion.

At the centre of the storm was FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, surrounded by heavy security, yet remaining in his vehicle throughout, even after entering the premises.

Tensions had been building long before the first plume of tear gas rose. A faction loyal to Wike, led by Abdulrahman Muhammed, had fixed its Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings for 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. respectively.

But almost immediately, the Kabiru Turaki–led National Working Committee (NWC) scheduled its first meeting for 10:00 a.m. The overlapping schedules created a direct collision of interests, rivalries and unresolved grievances.

By the time Governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi and Seyi Makinde of Oyo stood alongside National Chairman Kabiru Turaki, SAN, to brief journalists, the mood around the secretariat had shifted from tense to combustible.

The first confrontation broke out inside the secretariat’s NEC hall, where supporters from both sides faced off. Members of Turaki’s NWC were pushed out of the building as tempers flared. The scuffle quickly escalated into an exchange of blows, prompting the police to fire the first round of tear gas. Moments later, as Wike’s convoy drove in, officers released an even heavier burst, sending people scrambling in all directions.

Even the governors, who had entered earlier without incident, were not spared. Fighting through the fumes, Governors Bala Mohammed and Seyi Makinde manoeuvred their vehicles to block Wike’s car. Their actions turned the confrontation into an open struggle for control of the party’s headquarters.

Speaking amid the choking air, Governor Bala Mohammed captured the growing anger and disbelief.

He said, “We are not here to cause trouble. This is our own place and some imposters who have been expelled by the convention, which is the highest decision organ of the party, came to cause commotion and you can see the minister of the FCT coming himself in person being backed by the police.

“We are surprised because at the point when the police allowed us and our chairman praised them for impartiality. But here we are, We are here to sit in.”

Governor Mohammed grew even more agitated as the situation worsened.

“Our property, our rights; yet as governors we have been molested in spite of our immunity, and in spite of whatever protections we have as leaders in our own right with our Chairman. This is for the nation to gauge the kind of democracy we have, the kind of leadership that we have.

“I will advise the Presidency because it should not keep people who are no longer useful in terms of managing the political space, managing our diversity, creating unity and governance,” he said.

And then came his most forceful warning: “We do not want to cause trouble for anybody. Yes, we are in the opposition; we should be allowed to survive. The international community should know what we are going through. We are going through hell.

“Our party is being destroyed by people from inside, and the relevant rules were invoked to get them out. We are here to reintegrate our leaders, and this is what is happening.

“So we are not going anywhere, even if they will kill us. We have obliged our Chairman’s invitation. Maybe we will hear more from him, but certainly we are cautioned that this thing is getting out of hand. Enough is enough.”

At the gate, FCT Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) Isyaku Sharu repeatedly attempted to persuade the governors to move their vehicles so that Wike could either alight and join the meetings or leave the premises entirely.

But the governors insisted the minister must withdraw first. Journalists were pushed aside as security operatives intensified their efforts to control the crowd.

Inside the premises, Kabiru Turaki, SAN, looked visibly upset as he recounted his earlier conversation with the police.

“Well, yesterday when I had an interaction with the Commissioner of Police of the FCT, I told him that we had private information that people who have been expelled from our party were planning to come to our headquarters to disrupt our activities. And the Commissioner of Police, FCT, assured me upon his honour that they would do whatever was possible to protect us and guarantee us safe passage into our premises,” Turaki explained.

His tone hardened as he gestured towards Wike’s convoy.

“Now we are here. Our serving and former governors are here. Our members of the National Executive Committee are here. Our members of the Board of Trustees are here. And you have seen how they have now granted access to the Minister of the FCT, a person who has been declared persona non grata in the PDP, a person who has been expelled, to come in.

“They have tear-gassed us and tear-gassed even our governors who, under the Constitution, are protected. Some of our boys, some of our members who came here to attend a meeting that was lawfully called, have been shot by the police,” Turaki lamented.

His next words carried a dramatic plea that pulled the crisis into the international arena.

“So we are now calling on the international community. I want to call on President Trump. What is at stake is not just genocide against Nigerian Christians; he should come and save democracy in Nigeria. Democracy is under threat.

“I am calling on all other developed nations, all advanced democracies: come and save Nigeria, come and save democracy. Because I cannot understand how a serving minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will be leading thugs, armed thugs, and, with the active connivance and support of the police, come here to create mayhem.

“I have said it: we are willing to lay down our lives to protect our office, to protect our democracy, to protect our mandate. So Nigerians, you are watching what is happening; international community, you are seeing the threat that Nigerian democracy is under. Come and save us. Come and save us,” Turaki lamented.

Governor Seyi Makinde also cast the unfolding events in historic terms. “This battle is not about the PDP alone. It’s about the survival of democracy,” he said.

From Wike’s side, however, the allegations were dismissed. Senator Samuel Anyanwu remained beside the minister in the vehicle throughout the standoff.

And in an exclusive interview, PDP chieftain Timothy Osadolor accused the governors of trying to impose the outcome of what he called an ‘illegal’ convention on the party.

“For me, we saw the impunity and the defiance of Governor Bala Mohammed, and the desperation of Governor Seyi Makinde, on an unprecedented scale when, in furtherance of their defiance, defiance of constituted authorities of the land which prevented them from having the social gathering they held in Ibadan over the weekend, they now want to come and impose the outcome of their actions on the leadership and membership of the party here in Abuja.

“Whereas you would have thought, believed, and expected that, having made that fundamental mistake of going ahead with that chairmanship party today, there would be avenues for genuine consultations and integration of good factions,” Osadolor noted.

The standoff finally eased around 2:00 p.m. when Wike’s convoy drove out of the secretariat, the minister never once stepping out of his vehicle.

As calm slowly returned, Bala Mohammed, Makinde and Turaki walked around the premises to assess the damage before departing at 2:40 p.m. Yet, as though to punctuate the day’s turmoil, another round of tear gas was fired as they left, resisting even the possibility of a peaceful end.

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