Abuja, November 19, 2025 – In a dramatic escalation of the deepening crisis rocking Nigeria’s main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), heavily armed policemen on Wednesday morning sealed off the party’s National Secretariat located at Wadata Plaza, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, effectively shutting down all activities at the national headquarters.
The decision to lock down the sprawling secretariat came less than 24 hours after a violent confrontation between two bitterly divided factions within the party turned the premises into a theatre of chaos on Tuesday, November 18. Eyewitnesses described scenes of pandemonium as rival supporters hurled insults, engaged in physical scuffles, and traded blows while security operatives fired teargas canisters to disperse the warring groups.
At the heart of the mayhem was the continuing power struggle between supporters of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and a rival bloc led by former Jigawa State Governor, Senator Saminu Turaki, SAN, who was recently declared National Chairman by one of the factions.
The immediate trigger for Tuesday’s violence was the attempt by both factions to simultaneously convene separate National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) meetings at the same secretariat – a clear demonstration of the total breakdown of internal party authority.
Governors who are openly opposed to Wike’s continued influence in the party, including Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, were reportedly caught in the melee and exposed to the stinging teargas fired by police. Videos that circulated widely on social media showed the governors and their aides coughing and struggling to find clear air as thick clouds of teargas enveloped the secretariat premises.
By Tuesday evening, the pro-Wike factional NEC, in a swift retaliatory move, announced the outright expulsion of several high-profile anti-Wike figures. Those expelled included Governors Seyi Makinde, Bala Mohammed, and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State; former Senate President and ex-Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Adolphus Wabara; elder statesman and former Deputy National Chairman, Chief Bode George; and the newly proclaimed National Chairman, Senator Saminu Turaki himself. The faction accused the listed individuals of “gross anti-party activities and deliberate attempts to destroy the PDP.”
The expulsions were the latest chapter in a crisis that exploded into the open during a controversial parallel national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Saturday, November 15. That convention, organised by the anti-Wike bloc and heavily backed by Governor Seyi Makinde, suspended Nyesom Wike and ten of his prominent allies – including former governors, serving senators, House of Representatives members, and long-standing party financiers – for what it termed “deliberate anti-party activities and actions capable of bringing the party into disrepute.”
The Ibadan convention further accused the Wike group of plotting to “destabilise the party’s structure” in order to scuttle a planned nationwide reconciliation and reorganisation exercise. Delegates at the convention went ahead to elect Senator Saminu Turaki as acting National Chairman, a development the Wike camp immediately rejected as illegal and unconstitutional.
Tuesday’s showdown at Wadata Plaza was therefore the inevitable collision of these irreconcilable positions. Supporters of both factions arrived early, each determined to take physical control of the secretariat and validate their respective claims to legitimacy. What started as shouting matches quickly degenerated into pushing, shoving, and fist fights. Security operatives, apparently overwhelmed by the scale of the confrontation, resorted to firing teargas canisters indiscriminately, affecting party officials, journalists, and even passers-by.
By Wednesday morning, the Inspector-General of Police, apparently decided that the only way to prevent further breakdown of law and order was to completely seal the secretariat. Dozens of police vans and armed mobile policemen were deployed around the premises, with stern warnings that no one would be allowed entry until further notice.
The closure has effectively paralysed the national leadership of the PDP at a time the party is already grappling with multiple court cases, suspended officers, and conflicting directives emanating from the rival factions. Party staff reported for duty only to be turned back at the gate, while journalists and visitors were also denied access.
Political observers say the police action, though necessary for public safety, has further exposed the depth of the crisis in the once-dominant opposition party. Many fear that the prolonged leadership vacuum could severely hamper the PDP’s ability to present a united front ahead of the 2027 general elections.
As at the time of filing this report, neither Governor Nyesom Wike nor any of the affected governors had issued an official statement on the latest developments. However, sources close to the Wike camp insist that the minister remains firmly in control of the party’s original national working committee led by Ambassador Illiya Damagum (acting National Chairman) and have vowed to challenge every decision taken by the “illegal Ibadan convention” in court.
Meanwhile, the Saminu Turaki faction has called on the police to arrest anyone attempting to parade themselves as national officers outside those recognised by the Ibadan convention, setting the stage for what promises to be a protracted legal and political battle.
With the national secretariat now under lock and key and rival factions digging in, the PDP’s descent into full-blown factional warfare appears to have reached a point of no immediate return, leaving members, supporters, and indeed the entire country wondering whether Africa’s once-largest opposition party can survive its current existential crisis.
