Protesters and heavy police presence earmarked Wadata Plaza, the national headquarters of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in Abuja, as supporters of the faction loyal to the pro-Nyesom Wike National Vice Chairman (North Central), Mohammed Abdulrahman, and National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, stormed the premises on Monday.
Apparent loyalists of PDP strongman and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, the protested group chanted solidarity songs and demanded that the National Working Committee, led by Umar Damagum, exit the headquarters.
Abdulrahman was named the Acting National Chairman last week amidst the leadership crisis rocking the party worsened with the suspension of pro-Wike National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and the Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade, for a period of one month.
Heavy security stormed the PDP National Headquarters in Abuja as Mohammed resumed his role as Acting National Chairman.
Earlier, Mohammed and his supporters gathered at the FCT office of the PDP, where he addressed the crowd, confirming that he would be taking over as Acting National Chairman.
Mohammed was declared Acting National Chairman by the Samuel Anyanwu-led National Working Committee (NWC) following the suspension of the party’s National Chairman, Umar Damagun, and National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba.
The crisis in the opposition party escalated over the weekend as the National Chairman, Umar Damagun, along with some members of the National Working Committee (NWC), announced the suspension of the party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, National Organising Secretary Umar Bature, and other principal officers.
In a swift counter, Samuel Anyanwu led a separate faction of the NWC to suspend Damagun, National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba, and four other principal officers of the party.
While the Samuel Anyanwu-led Acting National Chairman Abdulrahman Mohammed resumed at the PDP National Headquarters on Monday, Damagun and his loyalist members of the National Working Committee were conspicuously absent.
Abdulrahman Mohammed, the Samuel Anyanwu-led Acting National Chairman, addressed journalists at the PDP national headquarters.
In a dramatic twist, the faction loyal to Anyanwu converged at a separate venue in Abuja and announced the suspension of the Damagum-led NWC.
The protesters, who accused the Damagum-led leadership of mismanaging party affairs, vowed to reclaim control of the secretariat for the Abdulrahman-led faction.
Security operatives deployed to the area to prevent a breakdown of law and order as both factions struggle for control of the party’s edifice.
