Tension flared on Monday at Wadata Plaza, the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja, as supporters of the faction aligned with the PDP National Vice Chairman (North Central), Mohammed Abdulrahman, stormed the party headquarters in protest.
Chanting solidarity songs, the protesters demanded that the Umar Damagum-led National Working Committee (NWC) vacate the secretariat without delay.
Abdulrahman was announced as Acting National Chairman last week, worsening the leadership turmoil that has engulfed the party. The crisis deepened following the suspension of the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and the party’s Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade, for one month.
In a counter move, loyalists of Anyanwu gathered at a separate location in Abuja, where they declared the suspension of the Damagum-led NWC, escalating the battle for control.
At Monday’s protest, Abdulrahman’s supporters accused the Damagum faction of mismanaging party affairs and vowed to take back the secretariat for their faction.
Security personnel have since been deployed to forestall chaos as both camps intensify their struggle for dominance over the party’s national headquarters.
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