Zoyols Blog reports that the storm within the Peoples Democratic Party reached a new peak yesterday as Bauchi State Governor and Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Senator Bala Mohammed, openly accused FCT Minister Nyesom Wike of driving the crisis threatening to tear the party apart.
Speaking at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja after heavy clashes between rival factions, Mohammed said Wike had openly vowed that the PDP would not return to power in 2027, describing his conduct as impunity that is now hurting even the federal administration he serves in.
According to him, the unrest rocking the party is the creation of one man—a reference to Wike—whom he accused of deploying intimidation and “gangster-style tactics” to destabilise the opposition. He added that the former Rivers governor’s actions were aimed at ensuring the PDP has no viable presidential candidate or structure going into the next general elections.
The tension at the secretariat intensified as two factions—one loyal to Wike and the other led by the newly elected National Working Committee—arrived for separate meetings scheduled for the same time. Police officers fired multiple rounds of tear gas as party members surged toward the building, prompting Governors Bala Mohammed and Seyi Makinde to step in.
Makinde said the struggle within the party goes beyond personalities, stressing that it is a fight for the future of Nigeria’s democracy. He explained that his fallout with Wike was driven by issues of discipline and respect for the party’s rules, insisting that Nigeria must retain a functional multi-party system for citizens to have real political choices.
In the middle of the chaos, the faction loyal to Wike announced the expulsion of Governors Makinde, Bala Mohammed and Zamfara’s Dauda Lawal, along with several senior party figures including Adolphus Wabara and Olabode George. The group also dissolved multiple state party executives while insisting its decisions were backed by the PDP constitution.
The newly elected NWC, however, rejected all actions taken by the Wike-aligned faction, dismissing them as illegal and lacking recognition from the Independent National Electoral Commission. Mohammed insisted that INEC had already acknowledged the Ibadan convention and that the law does not compel the electoral body to be physically present at any party convention.
Amid the clashes, Makinde, Bala Mohammed, and the new PDP chairman, Kabiru Turaki, forced their way into the NEC hall to proceed with their meeting. Minutes later, Wike arrived in a convoy but was blocked from entering as police attempted to restore order.
The drama escalated even further when tear gas filled the air again, causing chaos among party supporters. Bala Mohammed condemned the situation and called on the global community to pay close attention to what he described as a dangerous pattern undermining Nigeria’s democracy.
The African Democratic Congress added its voice, condemning the violence and accusing the federal government of enabling an assault on the nation’s democratic institutions. The party warned that the incident was a threat to multiparty democracy and a troubling preview of what could unfold ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Later, the Turaki-led NWC thanked Nigerians for their solidarity, telling Zoyols Blog that the public’s support helped the legitimate leadership regain access to the secretariat despite attempts to block them. The NWC described the attack as a direct threat to democratic freedom, arguing that suppressing the opposition would reduce elections to empty rituals with predetermined outcomes.
The party’s leadership insisted that it would not allow tyranny to take root, promising to rebuild, reorganise, and defend the party’s structures nationwide.
