Kabiru Turaki Assumes Office as PDP National Chairman Amid Secretariat Standoff

Kabiru Turaki on Tuesday officially assumed office as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), following a tense standoff at the party’s Wadata Secretariat in Abuja.

Addressing reporters, Turaki said, “For the past seven hours, Nigerians have witnessed the struggle we’ve faced with those renegade members of our party expelled at our national convention in Ibadan. They came here with armed thugs, as we predicted, intending to disrupt our meetings. But God was kind, and we were able to contain them effectively.”

He added, “Now, we have driven them out of the secretariat, and as you can see, I have entered my office and assumed leadership as the elected chairman.”

Earlier on Tuesday, rival factions clashed at the PDP secretariat as the party’s leadership crisis escalated. Security operatives were stationed at the premises, while Samuel Anyanwu and others loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike refused to vacate the secretariat. Chaos ensued when Turaki, alongside Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, and other newly-elected PDP executives, arrived at the secretariat. The police fired tear gas as Anyanwu’s supporters attempted to block their entry.

Recounting the ordeal, Turaki said, “If we had not exercised restraint and controlled our members and leaders, there would have been bloodshed here. We have been tear-gassed, with over 50 canisters fired at us, but we remained relentless and will continue to remain relentless.”

Despite the tension, Turaki vowed that the PDP would continue to defend democracy. “I have taken over my office, and PDP is back on course,” he affirmed.

The standoff follows the PDP’s national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, held over the weekend. During the convention, Turaki’s faction expelled Anyanwu, Wike, former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, and others for alleged anti-party activities. Anyanwu and his supporters have dismissed the expulsion as illegal and described the convention as a “jamboree.”

The leadership crisis underscores the ongoing internal struggles within Nigeria’s main opposition party as it seeks to consolidate authority ahead of future political contests.