The internal fight in the Peoples Democratic Party grew worse on Tuesday as the faction of the National Executive Committee loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, confirmed the removal of key party leaders.
The group removed governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State. They also removed former Board of Trustees Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, former National Vice Chairman Bode George and the recently elected National Chairman, Kabiru Turaki.
This latest action came a few days after the party’s convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, where Wike and his supporters were removed by the rival camp. The tension led to a clash on Tuesday at the PDP national secretariat in Wadata Plaza, Abuja, where both sides held separate NEC and Board of Trustees meetings.
During its meeting at the secretariat, the Wike camp also dissolved the state executive councils in Oyo, Bauchi, Zamfara, Yobe, Lagos and Ekiti. It ordered the setup of caretaker committees and fresh congresses in the affected states.
National Secretary Senator Sam Anyanwu read the communiqué at the end of the meeting. He said, “NEC received the report of the Acting National Chairman, Hon. Abdulrahman Mohammed, detailing breaches of Articles 58(1) and 59(1), including anti party activities, disobedience to court orders and actions that brought the party into disrepute.”
He added that the NEC had approved disciplinary steps against a list of senior party members, including Wabara, George, Turaki, Makinde, Mohammed and Lawal, among others.
More details are expected later.