Gunshots, Tear Gas as Wike Blocks Makinde, Turaki From PDP Secretariat

Gunshots, Tear Gas as Wike Blocks Makinde, Turaki From PDP Secretariat

Chaos erupted at the Peoples Democratic Party’s national headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday as police fired tear gas and gunshots to prevent Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, alongside factional chairman Kabiru Turaki, from entering the building.

The security intervention effectively allowed FCT Minister Nyesom Wike’s faction to maintain exclusive control of the party secretariat.

The confrontation began when Makinde, Mohammed, and Turaki arrived at Wadata Plaza for scheduled party meetings, only to find the gates blocked by security forces and supporters of the pro-Wike faction.

As tensions escalated between the rival groups, police responded with tear gas canisters and warning shots, creating pandemonium as party members and supporters scrambled for safety.

The scene highlighted the stark power division within the opposition party, with Wike’s group, led by National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, successfully maintaining control of the party headquarters.

Witnesses reported that while the governors and their supporters were forcibly prevented from entering, the gates opened without resistance when Minister Wike arrived later, underscoring the lopsided nature of the internal party conflict.

The violent exclusion of sitting governors from their own party’s headquarters marks a dangerous escalation in the PDP’s internal crisis, raising fundamental questions about democratic processes within Nigeria’s main opposition party just two years before the next general elections.