By Johnson Eyiangho and Laide Akinboade, Abuja

A high-level coalition meeting involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s Peter Obi, former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi and others descended into chaos as delegates from Jigawa State disrupted the proceedings.

The ongoing coalition meeting at the Abuja Continental Hotel, organised by the National Political Consultative Group (North), was briefly disrupted following a disagreement over representation for Jigawa State.

Tensions rose when former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, announced a delegate to speak for the state.

In protest, several Jigawa delegates stormed the stage, blocking the individual from speaking and insisting they would not be represented by those named.

As the confrontation escalated, security personnel, including members of the Nigerian Police, DSS, and private guards, quickly formed a protective barrier around key figures such as Atiku, Amaechi and others.

Calm was restored after several minutes of appeals, as Mustapha Lamido, son of former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, along with another delegate, was chosen to speak on behalf of the state.

PDP Defies Wike, Vows to Hold NEC Meeting at Wadata Plaza

Despite threats to seal the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Secretariat by Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nysom Wike by Monday, the party insisted that it will go ahead with its 99th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting scheduled to hold on Tuesday, at the Secretariat.

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Nyesom Wike had directed that the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja and 4793 other properties be sealed on Monday.

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) had in March 2025 revoked the PDP Secretariat located at Wadata Plaza, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, and 4793 other properties.

Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister, Lere Olayinka, said the properties would be sealed Monday (today) at a joint news conference on Friday with the Director of Land Administration, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, and Director Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima.

However, a statement by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, yesterday reminded NEC members that the scheduled meeting will be held on Tuesday at the same venue.

Ologunagba recalled that the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) 600th meeting held on Tuesday, 29th April, 2025 resolved to hold the 99th NEC meeting on Tuesday, 27th May, 2025.

He advised all NEC members to attend the meeting. The PDP NEC Meeting had been postponed several times before now.

PDP Crisis: Wike Withdraws from PDP Peace Talk

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, at the weekend, said that he was pulling out of all previous agreements reached to resolve the lingering crisis in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), vowed to “fight on until justice is attained.”

The FCT Minister, who said he had pointed out to the Oyo State Governor. Seyi Makinde, that he was the architect of the party’s present problems, disclosed that he told Governor Makinde that “non-adherence to agreements reached was the bane of the party, and that he was the chief culprit of this anomaly.”

This was contained in a statement titled; “PDP Crisis: My Position,” which he personally signed, the Minister insisted that resolutions reached that Senator Samuel Anyanwu remained the National Secretary of the PDP in tandem with the Supreme Court judgement, all legal matters relating to Rivers State must be withdrawn by the National Legal Adviser, the suit on the State of emergency be withdrawn forthwith and that nobody should deviate from the agreements so reached, must be respected by all the parties involved.

“Since after the 2023 General election, the PDP has been wantonly swinging from one part of a slippery precipice to another, owing fundamentally to dishonesty and lack of trust amongst its key stakeholders. “To stem this ugly trend, efforts have been made to arrest this pernicious virus of dishonesty and treachery and enthrone fidelity to agreements with a view to stabilizing the party and moving it forward.

“To this end, a meeting of the G5 was held in Lagos. In that meeting, I made it clear to the Governor of Oyo State, HE. Seyi Makinde that he was the architect of our problems, pointing out to him that non-adherence to agreements reached was the bane of the party, and that he was the chief culprit of this anomaly. At the end of the meeting, we resolved to bury the hatchet and make progress.

“As a follow-up to the aforementioned meeting, there was an expanded meeting in Abuja involving HE. Seyi Makinde, HE. Umaru Fintri, HE. Bala Mohammed, HE, Bukola Saraki and I in Saraki’s guest house. In that meeting, I made it clear that I had no personal problems with HE. Bala Mohammed, except that he hides under the facade of Chairman of PDP Governors Forum to serially renege on agreements. Tensions rose mightily in the meeting and it took all concerned to calm frayed nerves. At the end of the meeting, we came to some resolutions, including: that Senator Samuel Anyanwu remains the National Secretary of the PDP in tandem with the Supreme Court judgement, all legal matters relating to Rivers State must be withdrawn by the National Legal Adviser, the suit on the State of emergency be withdrawn forthwith, and nobody should deviate from the agreements so reached.

“In the light of the foregoing, they pleaded with me to attend the stakeholders’ meeting at the Bauchi Government Lodge, regardless of my many engagements. I attended the meeting and clearly reiterated my earlier concerns, and to this end and in order to resolve all other lingering and pending issues, a committee was formed, headed by HE. Bukola Saraki.

“It is disheartening to note that even before the Bukola Saraki Reconciliation Committee began its work, the gentleman’s agreement we reached at Saraki’s Guest House was already being crudely violated. To my chagrin, Seyi Makinde had connived with Peter Mba of Enugu State to orchestrate the summoning of the meeting of so-called South-East leaders to recommend that if Ude Okoye was not adopted as Secretary, they would pull out of the PDP. I have since granted an interview to the effect that, that resolution of the South-East leaders can not hold.

“Again, Seyi Makinde organized some people in the National Secretariat to insist that the Deputy National Secretary should act as National Secretary, in violation of the agreement earlier reached. To attempt to give credence to this farce, a letter was written by the Deputy National Secretary, calling for a meeting of the NEC of the party. Furthermore, the letter confirming the candidacy of the Governorship candidate of the party in the forthcoming Governorship elections in Anambra State, duly signed by the National Secretary, Senator Anyanwu and the acting National Chairman, was portrayed as rejected by the party through a rebuttal letter signed by the National Publicity Secretary, acting on the orders of Seyi Makinde and Peter Mba. All these actions are in complete violation of the agreements reached and would not do the party any good whatsoever. On the 24th of May 2025, in Jos, for instance, a well publicized and properly attended zonal elective congress of the PDP was aborted because the letter inviting INEC to the congress was signed by the Deputy National Secretary of the party. INEC refused to attend because the proper signatory recognized by law, that is Senator Samuel Anyanwu, was not a signatory to the invitation notice. This is undeniably distasteful, provocative and annoying, to say the least.

“I have painstakingly put out all these facts so that PDP members and the general public would know the truth. I have been in this party since 1998 and have worked tirelessly for the survival of this party with all my strength and it is on record that none of these persons have done anything close to what I have done to sustain this party. What is more painful is that I contributed substantially to most of these governors winning their elections, yet I have not made any personal demands on any of them and I would never do so.

“Most importantly, I had thought that we could keep the trust amongst us, but since it is now obvious that they would continue to play games to the detriment of the party, as is the case in the current debacle in the North-Central zonal elections, I have now firmly decided to pull out of all agreements hitherto reached. I have decided to fight on until justice is attained,” the statement read.