As early as 7a.m, more than 600 armed policemen and doz­ens of thugs took over the par­ty’s secretariat, while the Wike-backed group was already inside the premises preparing for their Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting, which was scheduled for 11a.m and the National Executive Com­mittee (NEC) meeting scheduled for 2p.m.

Tension escalated at about 10:30a.m when the convoys of Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Bala Mohammed of Bau­chi State, and the party’s National Chairman, Kabiru Tanimu Tura­ki (SAN), arrived at the secretar­iat, where Wike-led group tried to stop them by mobilising and barricading the gate.

While the skirmish was ongo­ing, policemen and thugs released a barrage of tear gas right there where the governors, Turaki and members of the party’s Nation­al Working Committee (NWC) were waiting to access the gate. Through the intervention of the security officers attached to them, they were able to make their way inside the premises. The unlucky members were harassed and beaten up by the Wike-backed group.

The coming of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, worsened the situation at the secretariat as the group loyal to him went over­board. His presence at the party’s national secretariat emboldened the group to the extent that they were openly insulting Governors Bala and Makinde, calling them names.

All this time, Wike was sitting in his vehicle, watching the entire drama.

He was still inside the vehicle when Governors Bala and Ma­kinde, who stood beside his car addressed journalists on the de­velopments.

The FCT minister, who spent several hours in his car, was still there when police released sever­al volleys of tear gas that eventu­ally saw journalists and other peo­ple out of the party’s secretariat scampering to safety.

After several hours of chaos, the Wike-led group left the party’s secretariat and the Turaki-led NWC took over the building.

Shortly after taking over, Turaki held a meeting with the governors and other party stake­holders inside the office of the party’s national chairman, where he occupies.

Addressing newsmen earli­er, Turaki, who rescheduled the inaugural meeting of the NWC for today, urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to call Minister Wike to order.

Questioning the rational be­hind Wike leading thugs to the party’s secretariat, Turaki said that if they have not exercised restraint “there would have been bloodshed in the party.”

Turaki, who noted that there’s a serious threat to democracy in Nigeria said, “There is a serious threat to democracy in this coun­try. As soon as democracy crum­bles, then that will be the end of this country, God forbid. But for us in PDP, I had said it and I want to say it quite emphatically, that if it means that we lay down our lives for democracy to strive and survive in Nigeria, we are pre­pared to do that.

“So, I want to thank you, members of the press, in spite of the tear gas, that these other ele­ments, because this is not police tear gas. I don’t know how they procured this tear gas and they are spraying it on us. But that has not and will never deter us. It has not deterred us and it will not deter us.

“So, I want to thank you so very much for your support and cooperation and I want to assure you that we have taken over our office and we will continue to give leadership and direction to this party from our national head­quarters, which is the Wadata Plaza.”

Turaki further said: “We have said in Ibadan after our conven­tion that we shall be coming today to conduct our inaugural NWC meeting. And coming back to Abuja, we discovered that some elements who have been expelled from our party by the national convention, which as you all know is the highest decision-mak­ing organ of our political party, had made plans to disrupt this meeting.

“Yesterday, I had an interface along with some members of the NWC with the Commissioner of Police of the FCT. I told him that we are coming today to have our inaugural NWC meeting and I told him that our leaders will be here to witness this historic mo­ment. And I also told him that we’ve seen in the social media some flyers purporting to give notice of NEC and BoT meeting by the people who are no longer members of this party.

“And he assured us that he is going to protect us. He assured us that he’s going to provide security for us to conduct our meeting. I’m happy that the Commissioner of Police of the FCT had fulfilled his promise.

“They have made sure that we’ve gained entry into our secretariat and we are here ad­dressing the gentlemen of the press. Now, however, due to some incidents that are called by those people who are the enemies of progress, who are the enemies of democracy, we have decided that this meeting will be postponed till tomorrow. Meanwhile, I want to appreciate our leaders, our gov­ernors, members of National As­sembly, former governors, former ministers, members of BoT, state chairman, and indeed members of the immediate past National Working Committee who have also come here to show solidari­ty with us.

“We in PDP are a peace-loving people. We want peace to reign be­cause we want to take over gover­nance in this country. And so, if we want to take over governance in this country, then we need to have a country in place.

“And that is why we are tak­ing all the steps we took to inform the police about the attempts that some people had planned to make today……. and we have been vindicated. Members of the press, you’ve seen them, how they came with thugs armed to fight us. But once again, I com­mend the dexterity of officers and men of Nigeria police force for standing up to their respon­sibility. This democracy must survive.

“And we will do everything to ensure that democracy survives. And if it means that we have to make appeal to the international community to come and assist us, to rescue this democracy, we will not fail from doing that. I want to call on all Nigerians to stand up.

“The kind of conduct that the Minister of FCT has gotten himself engaged in this morning, leading to this afternoon, is unbe­coming. How can a serving minis­ter lead thugs to come and disrupt a legally arranged meeting? A meeting in respect to the notices that have been given to the police and other security agencies. If we had not exercised restraint, if we had not controlled our members and our leaders, there would have been bloodshed here.”

Also speaking, Oyo State gov­ernor, Makinde, explained why they were at the secretariat.

He said: “The highest organ of the party which is the nation­al convention, supervised the election of the new managers of the party for the next four years.

“They are here and supposed to have their inauguration meet­ing and they invited us as stake­holders to come and witness their inaugural NWC meeting, so we came and we are here.

“You are all witnesses to what we have been battling with. But let me say it loud and clear, when the day is about to break, that is the darkest moment, so this is the darkest moment for PDP as a party because the day is about to break forth for a new PDP and for our democracy to be on a solid footing in Nigeria.”

Earlier, the expelled Anyan­wu explained why police officers were invited to the party secre­tariat.

Anyanwu, who said he was never expelled, added that his of­fice is still running till December 8 when his tenure will expire.

He said: “Well, you know, this is our usual operation, anytime we’re having a BoT meeting or NEC meeting, we usually invite the security, because of the peo­ple who are around so they don’t embarrass our members.

“So usually we write to all the security agencies for them to give us security to protect the of­fice. That’s why you see the police here. It’s not the first time and it is not unusual.

“I wrote to all the security agencies on the 14th of Novem­ber, 2025 that we are going to have a BoT and NEC meeting, I wrote to INEC as well, which they have acknowledged. So, and they have been on the news.

“So I don’t know where all that is coming from. So if they decide, if we, because, on what premise are they coming to have their meeting, as what? I’m the national secretary of the party. My office is still running until 8th of December. Until 8th of De­cember. So, ordinarily, I’m doing my function.

“The BoT, the acting chairman are here. They have come for their meeting. You can see there’s no problem. So if we start our meet­ing and they become intruders, when anybody comes here to dis­rupt our meeting, because we’re already here. So I don’t see any­body sensible enough to come and disrupt a meeting that’s going on. If anybody wants to hold meet­ing, they can meet anywhere. It’s allowed. But we’re here.”

On Ibadan expulsion, Anyan­wu said, “I have not been expelled and all the names mentioned were never expelled. So on what premise are you expelling us? What platform are you using to expel us. Convention that never held. And every communication to INEC for any congresses, con­vention, I must sign to that and I never communicated any letter to INEC for any convention. And there was no convention, as a mat­ter of fact. There’s no convention anywhere.

“It’s very clear that any con­vention must be monitored, supervised by INEC, INEC does the accreditation, the video for accreditation. These things are not done. They know the truth. Somebody, somewhere has spent money and wanted people togeth­er. And let me ask you, If you are doing a convention, two-thirds of the states must be there.

“They only came for jambo­ree where people were picked by the road sides, and given PDP uniform to occupy some state podiums. It’s just that somebody wants to foment trouble in the party, and point accusing finger at someone else.”

ADC Condemns Attack On PDP HQ, Says Democracy Under Siege

Meanwhile, the African Dem­ocratic Congress (ADC) has con­demned the violent attack on the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) national secretariat, warning that democracy is under siege.

The party condemned what it described as a “disturbing and dangerous assault on democra­cy” following the violent attack on PDP headquarters in Abuja by armed men under the com­mand of senior officials of the ruling party.

APC, in a statement on Tues­day in Abuja by its National Pub­licity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, criticised the Tinubu administration for employing vi­olence in its bid to take control of another political party.

ADC warned that such actions are a direct threat to multiparty democracy and advance the rul­ing party’s desire to entrench a one-party rule in Nigeria.

ADC said: “The incident, with­out doubt, is a dangerous assault on Nigeria’s democracy, which must be condemned by everyone, regardless of party affiliation.

“Based on its various actions and machinations since coming to power, this government’s an­ti-democratic credentials are no longer in doubt. However, this latest assault represents a new and dangerous low, even by the already-worrying standards of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu admin­istration.

“With this action, the govern­ment is sending a chilling mes­sage that it would do anything and employ any means, including acts of terror, to advance partisan political interests.

“If the government could send armed agents to enforce factional control of an opposition headquarters, what stops it from doing the same to labour unions, press organisations, student movements, or peaceful protest groups?

“Therefore, let no one make the mistake of thinking that this is a PDP matter. This attack affects the future of democracy in Nigeria and sets a dangerous background for the 2027 general elections.”

The ADC therefore viewed the invasion as another episode, albeit a more sinister one, in the ruling party’s insidious efforts to destabilise opposition parties and undermine Nigeria’s future as a multiparty democracy.

“We therefore call on all Ni­gerians and Nigeria’s interna­tional partners to take note of this dangerous situation and to engage the Nigerian government on the need to uphold democratic norms, respect civil liberties, and prevent further descent into au­thoritarian behaviour.

“As a party, we also demand an independent investigation into the role of the Nigeria police and other security forces in this disgraceful action. We also call on President Bola Tinubu to rein in his political operatives before they send the country into chaos,” ADC said.