Kabiru Turaki on Tuesday formally 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 journalists after taking over, Turaki said, “For the past seven hours, Nigerians have witnessed the struggle we’ve faced with renegade members of our party expelled at our national convention in Ibadan. They came here with armed thugs to disrupt our meetings, but God’s grace allowed us to contain them effectively.”
He added, “We have now driven them out of the secretariat, and I have entered my office as the elected chairman.”
Earlier in the day, rival PDP factions clashed at the party’s headquarters as the leadership crisis escalated. Security operatives were deployed to maintain order, while Samuel Anyanwu and supporters loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike refused to vacate the premises.
Chaos erupted when Turaki, alongside Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, and other newly elected PDP executives, arrived at the secretariat. Police fired teargas as Anyanwu’s supporters tried to block their entry.
Recounting the tense moments, Turaki said, “If we had not exercised restraint and controlled our members, there would have been bloodshed. More than 50 canisters of teargas were fired at us, yet we remained relentless. PDP is back on course, and we will continue to defend democracy.”
Meanwhile, Anyanwu criticized the actions of the new leadership, dismissing the convention and expulsions as a “jamboree” and labeling them illegal. He highlighted that the recent PDP convention in Ibadan, held amid conflicting court rulings, had seen him, Wike, former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, and others expelled for alleged anti-party activities.
Turaki, however, vowed that the PDP would uphold its principles and continue to act as a “vanguard of democracy.”
