The Wadata Plaza in Abuja which houses the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was tension-soaked Monday shortly after Mr Mohammed Abdulrahman assumed office as the acting national chairman.
A protest erupted as Abdurrahman’s supporters stormed the premises, chanting solidarity songs and demanded the national working committee, led by Mr Umar Damagum to vacate the premises immediately.
The demonstrators accused the Damagum-led leadership of mismanaging the party’s affairs and vowed to reclaim control of the secretariat for the Abdulrahman-led group.
To forestall a breakdown of law and order, a team of policemen arrived at the plaza and ordered staff and journalists to vacate before locking the gates and taking up positions around the complex.
Abdulrahman was named the acting national chairman last week following the suspension of the party’s key national officers by the Damagun-led faction.
Spokesman for the PDP, Mr Debo Ologunagba, disclosed in a post via @OfficialPDPNig that the national secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; national organising secretary, Umar Bature; national legal adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade; and deputy national legal adviser, Mr Okechukwu Osuoha, had been suspended for one month and referred to the national disciplinary committee.
“During this period of the suspension, they cease to function in their respective capacities,” Ologunagba said.
In a dramatic twist, a faction of the party loyal to the FCT minister and former governor of Rivers State, Mr Nyesom Wike and spearheaded by Anyanwu, converged on a separate venue in Abuja and announced the suspension of Damagum, Ologunagba and the deputy national chairman (south), Mr Taofeek Arapaja.
Wike’s supporters accused the Damagum-led leadership of alleged financial misconduct, incompetence and bias, citing unresolved disputes in the south-south zone and alleged disregard for micro-zoning principles.
Meanwhile, the former governors of Benue and Ekiti states, Messrs Samuel Ortom and Ayo Fayose have endorsed the Abdulrahman-led group while blaming Damagum for the party’s worsening internal crisis.
Ortom, who is a member of the party’s board of trustees, blamed poor leadership and exclusionary politics for the PDP’s disarray.
He said his warnings on the need for inclusiveness and reconciliation were ignored by the leadership.
“Democracy thrives when people of diverse views come together for the common good. Unfortunately, a few individuals have attempted to run the party without recourse to collective consultation,” he said.
Ortom said Abdulrahman’s emergence as acting national chairman “is a fresh opportunity to rebuild trust and heal internal wounds.”
For Fayose, the Abdulrahman-led faction “is a necessary step to rescue the party from total collapse.”
