Today, Kabiru Turaki took over as the national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Channels TV says that he returned following a standoff at the party’s Wadata Secretariat in Abuja.
Turaki told reporters, “For the past seven hours, Nigerians have been living witnesses to the struggle we’ve been having with those rogue members of our party who were kicked out at our national convention in Ibadan.”
“They came here with armed thugs, which we knew would cause problems at our meetings, but thank God we were able to handle them well.”
He remarked, “Now that we have kicked them out of the secretariat, as you can see, I am in my office and have taken over as the elected chairman.”
Earlier in the day, competing groups fought inside the PDP secretariat as the party’s leadership crisis got worse.
Samuel Anyanwu and other supporters of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike were at the secretariat with security guards, who said they would not leave.
When Turaki, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, and other members of the newly-elected PDP executives got there, things got out of hand.
As Anyanwu’s supporters tried to stop the group from getting to the secretary, the police shot tear gas.
Turaki stated, “If we hadn’t been careful and kept our members and leaders in check, there would have been bloodshed here.”
“We have been hit with tear gas, and I think more than 50 canisters of tear gas have been shot at us.” But we didn’t give up, and we won’t give up.
The PDP chairman said, “We will continue to defend democracy; we will continue to act as the vanguards of democracy,” even though this happened.
Turaki remarked, “I am now in charge of my office, and PDP is back on track.”
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