Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The crisis engulfing the Peoples Democratic Party deepened dramatically on Thursday as the Kabiru Turaki led faction openly dared the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to seal its operational office. The challenge was a direct response to Wike’s earlier threat to shut down any illegal PDP secretariat in Abuja. Speaking during an interview on Arise News, a chieftain of the Turaki faction, Umar Sani, disclosed that the group has been functioning from an office located at Area 10 in Garki, Abuja, a location he said Wike knows well. Umar Sani declared that the faction has an office that it is running and that Wike should come and demolish it. His comments followed Wike’s media parley on Wednesday, where the FCT minister had challenged the Turaki camp to open an official PDP account and secretariat if they truly control the party structure. Wike vowed that if anybody opens an illegal office in the name of PDP in Abuja, he would seal it, insisting that one does not form a leadership in a bedroom and call it a national structure.
The dare was echoed by Ibrahim Abdullahi, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP and private principal secretary to Turaki. In a separate interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Abdullahi insisted that the faction already operates from a known location. He stated that they have been operating from an office and that Wike knows the location, inviting the minister to come there and take over the office if he can. He described the office as temporary but noted that they are meeting there and carrying out their functions. Abdullahi also painted a grim picture of the party’s internal affairs, comparing the escalating crisis to a descent into anarchy where life is brutish, short, and nasty as Thomas Hobbes would describe it. He stressed that the faction is willing to test the minister’s resolve.
During his Wednesday media chat, Wike took aim at the Turaki leadership, accusing it of misleading Nigerians and flouting court rulings. He dared them to open an office anywhere and call it a PDP secretariat, arguing that the rival faction lacked legal authority to operate as the leadership of the party. Wike claimed that no commercial bank would open an account for them because they do not possess legally recognised party documents. He also accused the Turaki camp of fraudulent politics and warned that any attempt to sell nomination forms for the 2027 election would amount to duping Nigerians. Wike further vowed that if Turaki, as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, opened a PDP bank account under the current circumstances, he would be derobed. He did not specify which court judgment he was relying on but repeatedly argued that judicial pronouncements had already settled the leadership dispute.
The ongoing PDP crisis originated from a factional convention held in Oyo State in February 2025, where the Southeast caucus of the party elected Senator Tanimu Kabiru Turaki as national chairman. The convention was boycotted by the camp loyal to Nyesom Wike and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who insisted that the party’s authentic leadership should be determined by court backed decisions. In April 2026, a faction of the party loyal to the Wike Makinde axis announced an indefinite postponement of the party’s national convention, citing new electoral guidelines and the need to deepen internal democracy. The Turaki group, however, maintained that it would proceed with its own convention, dismissing the postponement as illegal. The crisis has deepened to the point that multiple PDP chapters across the country are now operating parallel structures, with each faction claiming to be the legitimate heir to the party’s legacy. The development has alarmed elder statesmen and pro democracy groups, who warn that the protracted power struggle could hand the ruling All Progressives Congress a significant advantage in the 2027 elections.
Wike’s aggressive stance against the Turaki faction is part of a broader conflict. The FCT minister has also been locked in a fierce political war with Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, who leads another splinter group within the PDP. At the same time, Wike has been involved in a long running feud with his former protégé, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, whom he accused of betrayal and of breaking peace pacts brokered by President Bola Tinubu. In an interview on Wednesday, Wike alleged that Makinde, Turaki and their allies were desperately looking for a presidential candidate after negotiations with Peter Obi and Labour Party leaders collapsed. Wike also claimed that several Northern PDP governors had already aligned with the ruling APC, leaving the opposition fractured. He expressed confidence that the PDP would emerge stronger only after a lawful national convention.
The Turaki camp has responded to Wike’s threats with derision, describing him as delusional. Ini Ememobong, spokesperson for the faction, said Wike was aware that the PDP already operates party accounts, and that his delusional boast of dealing with banks will amount to nothing. Ememobong added that the Turaki faction had already opened official party accounts and was merely waiting for an opportune moment to begin registration and sales of nomination forms. Ememobong also mocked Wike’s threat to have Turaki stripped of his SAN title, describing the minister’s words as empty boast. He insisted that the faction has the backing of the majority of party members across the federation and will not be intimidated by a minister who has lost touch with the grassroots.
As the war of words intensifies, political analysts have expressed concern that the PDP leadership crisis is now spilling over into the administrative functions of the FCT. By invoking his authority as the minister responsible for maintaining law and order in Abuja, Wike has signalled that he is prepared to use state apparatus against a rival faction. Critics argue that such a move would set a dangerous precedent, but Wike’s camp insists that it is acting to prevent the proliferation of illegal party structures. Meanwhile, the Turaki faction has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise its leadership, pointing to the fact that the commission monitored the Oyo convention. But the commission has remained silent, further deepening the uncertainty. With the 2027 general elections less than two years away, the pressure is mounting on the warring camps to resolve their differences or risk throwing the election to a resurgent APC.
The Turaki faction has not yet announced any plan to physically relocate its office, but its challenge to Wike is clear. The office exists, Wike knows where it is, and he is welcome to seal it. Whether the FCT minister will follow through on his threat or allow the political process to run its course remains to be seen. For now, the PDP’s internecine war is far from over, and the next act could unfold in the streets of Abuja, where the battle for the soul of one of Africa’s largest political parties might be fought not at the ballot box but with padlocks and police tape.
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