𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐃𝐏: 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐢 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭

A major showdown is brewing inside the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the faction loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and the camp of the newly elected National Chairman, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, prepare to hold separate meetings at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja today.

Wike-aligned faction announces its own NEC, BoT meetings

The group loyal to Wike—led by the sacked National Chairman, Mohammed Abdulrahman—circulated notices calling its Board of Trustees and National Executive Committee members to emergency meetings at the NEC Hall of the PDP secretariat, Wadata Plaza.
The announcement, signed by expelled National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, directed members to attend “without fail,” stressing that key decisions were expected.

This summons comes barely 48 hours after the Makinde-backed convention in Ibadan, where Wike, Anyanwu, former Ekiti governor Ayo Fayose and Dan Orbih were removed from the party for alleged anti-party actions.
However, Governors Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa and Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau quickly dissociated themselves from the expulsions.

Turaki insists on taking over the secretariat

The PDP’s newly elected National Chairman, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, on the other hand, has vowed that his own NEC meeting will proceed today at Wadata Plaza.
Speaking after submitting a petition to the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in Abuja on Monday, he stressed that his leadership will not surrender the party’s headquarters to any parallel group.

“Our offices are open and we are moving in. We will begin to carry out the functions for which we were elected,” Turaki declared.
He said the police had been officially notified and promised protection, adding that his team would defend itself if confronted.
“Our NEC meets at 10 a.m., and I will lead from the front,” he added.

Crisis spreads to Kano, Jigawa, Katsina

The conflict has now spilled into several northern chapters of the party.

In Kano, state chairman Yusuf Ado Kibiya accused the Wike faction of stoking turmoil, insisting that members expelled at the Ibadan convention lack the moral or legal standing to call any PDP meeting.
He argued that “external forces” were sponsoring them to destabilise the party and advised them to seek redress in court instead of heightening tensions.

In Jigawa, PDP spokesperson Umar Kyari dismissed both factions entirely, saying neither Turaki’s camp nor Wike’s group holds legitimate authority over the national secretariat.
Kyari insisted security agencies should seal the building, arguing that Turaki’s election violated a subsisting court order and Wike’s group had already been expelled.

From Katsina, party chieftain Ambassador Umar Jibril said Wike forfeited his PDP membership long ago by accepting a ministerial appointment in an APC-led government.
According to him, Wike’s actions are “a danger to democracy” and have triggered internal crises in other parties as well.

A party on the edge

With both factions declaring their intention to enter the same national secretariat for different meetings today, the PDP risks one of its most intense confrontations in years.
The leadership struggle has fanned divisions from Abuja to multiple state chapters, underscoring the deepening fractures within Nigeria’s leading opposition party.