The national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) remained locked on Monday as the Nyesom Wike-backed faction of the party delayed its planned takeover, citing ongoing police administrative and security processes.
Explaining the absence of the faction at Wadata Plaza, the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP National Caretaker Committee, Jungudo Mohammed, dismissed reports that the police had rejected their request to access the facility.
Speaking in an exclusive interview, Mohammed said the police were still finalising internal procedures ahead of reopening the PDP headquarters.
“I am not aware that the police declined our request, and I do not believe that is true. The police are the appropriate authority to confirm why the secretariat has not yet been opened, and we cannot force them,” he said.
According to him, the closure of the PDP secretariat followed internal leadership disputes, but those issues had already been resolved by the courts.
“The police must open the secretariat because they are required to comply with the court order. The disagreement over the party’s leadership has been settled, and lawful party activities must resume,” Mohammed added.
He stressed that the Wike-aligned PDP faction would continue to engage the police peacefully and would not resort to violence if delays persist.
“We are law-abiding leaders. We will continue to engage the police respectfully and address any concerns. We are confident the situation will not escalate into conflict,” he said.
Mohammed noted that while an exact reopening date for the PDP headquarters was yet to be confirmed, the caretaker committee remained optimistic that the facility would soon be reopened for party activities.
Background: PDP Leadership Crisis Deepens
The development follows a heated exchange on Sunday between the Wike-backed PDP camp and the Tanimu Turaki (SAN)-led National Working Committee (NWC) over the planned reopening of the party headquarters.
While the Wike faction insisted it would proceed with taking over Wadata Plaza, the Turaki-led NWC — backed by Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), and Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa) — warned that the police would be held responsible if violence broke out at the secretariat.
On January 30, 2026, a Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan nullified the PDP National Convention held on November 15, 2025, and barred Turaki and other officials elected at the convention from presenting themselves as national officers of the party.
Despite earlier endorsements of the convention by PDP governors, the court ruling triggered a fresh leadership tussle.
Before the judgment, PDP governors had overseen a transition from former chairman Umar Damagum to Turaki. However, the Wike-aligned faction formed a 13-member caretaker committee on December 8, appointing Abdulrahman Mohammed as acting national chairman and Samuel Anyanwu as acting national secretary with a 60-day mandate.
Attempts by both factions to hold meetings at Wadata Plaza on November 18, 2025, degenerated into violence, prompting the police to seal the PDP national headquarters — a closure that has now lasted nearly three months.
Following the Ibadan court ruling, the PDP pledged to organise a fresh national convention, while INEC recognised the Wike-backed faction as the legitimate representative of the party in line with the court order.
At a recent meeting, Anyanwu announced that the PDP headquarters would reopen on Monday — a move strongly opposed by the Turaki-led NWC.
