Tension in PDP: Police Secure Wadata Plaza with Barbed Wire

Following Tuesday’s violent clash between the two factions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the police cordoned off the Wadada Plaza National Secretariat of the party in Abuja with barbed wire on Wednesday.

A police armoured van brought a lengthy roll of barbed wire to the front of the building early in the morning, which was used to encircle the front and corners of the building.

Traffic was also diverted from one side of the double-lane road passing directly in front of the secretariat, with the result that vehicles moving in both directions were forced to use only one side of the road.

Nigerian Tribune counted at least five police vans fully loaded with personnel, stationed at different locations guarding the building and monitoring human and vehicle movements around the area.

A senior officer, accompanied by two siren-blaring Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), was also sighted briefly giving operational instructions to his men before he hopped into one of the APCs, which sped off from the area.

The factions, one led by the newly-elected National Chairman of the party, Dr Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, and another led by the Acting National Chairman, Alhaji Mohammed Abdulrahman, had both fixed their National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) meetings at the secretariat on Tuesday in their bid to assume legitimacy and control of the party/office.

But, as group leaders and supporters of the two factions arrived at the secretariat, located in Wuse, Zone 5, a clash became inevitable, leaving many injured and tear-gassed by the police in their bid to restore order.

While the Turaki camp has the backing of PDP governors like Bala Mohammed (Bauchi State); and Seyi Makinde (Oyo State), both who were involved in the clash yesterday, the Abdulrahman faction enjoys the support of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Mr Nyesom Wike.

The three top politicians were at the secretariat on Tuesday in a standoff that lasted from 11am to 2.09pm when Wike was the first to leave the building, and later followed by Mohammed and Makinde.

As of 12.33 pm on Wednesday, neither of the parties was seen around the vicinity of the secretariat.