Tension has increased at the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) national headquarters in Abuja as two opposing factions claiming leadership of the party have pushed to hold concurrent meetings at the same location.
On Tuesday, heavily armed security personnel blocked off large areas of Wadata Plaza in anticipation of confrontations between supporters of Senator Samuel Anyanwu and the recently elected National Working Committee, which is headed by Tanimu Turaki.
The first people to arrive at the secretariat on Tuesday morning were members of the National Working Committee, which is led by Anyanwu.
Shortly after taking office, Anyanwu told reporters that he would continue to serve as the party’s substantive National Secretary until December, emphasizing that neither a leadership announcement nor the results of the convention could nullify his term.
He dismissed rumors that the Turaki group had expelled him, claiming that due process had not been observed.
Anyanwu affirmed that he had invited the security guards positioned outside the building in response to inquiries.
He claims that whenever significant party gatherings are planned, the PDP routinely requests the participation of security forces.
In what was generally seen as a warning to the Turaki-led exco, which had also called its own emergency meeting at the same national headquarters, he added that the security personnel were also prepared to deal with any “intruders.”
On Monday, the Turaki-led leadership wrote to the police to inform them of what they claimed were intentions by expelled officers to sabotage events at the party secretariat.
