The Publicity Secretary elected at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ibadan convention, Ini Ememobong Essien, has urged President Bola Tinubu to call the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to order following violent clashes between rival factions of the party in Abuja on Tuesday.
Essien, who briefed journalists after security operatives fired tear gas at PDP officials and reporters gathered at the party’s national secretariat, faulted the police for what he described as unprovoked dispersal of lawful party activities.
According to him, several PDP governors were among those affected by the tear gas, despite prior engagement between the party leadership and the FCT Commissioner of Police on Monday, where security concerns were reportedly outlined.
He alleged that police officers granted access to individuals already expelled from the PDP while blocking legitimate members — including governors and the national chairman — from entering the premises.
“You have been tear-gassed. All of us know the truth. Today, some governors have been tear-gassed — for what reason?” he queried. “Yesterday, the chairman of our party met with the Commissioner of Police, and the issues were clearly stated. But this morning, they aided and abetted the entry of people expelled from the party and prevented the original owners from coming in.”
Essien explained that after the national chairman addressed the press and plans for a meeting were postponed over security concerns, security personnel escorted one of the expelled individuals into the secretariat — the same individuals the police had earlier blocked from entering.
“The same people who stopped us from coming in — who stopped two governors and the national chairman — were escorting someone else in. And so we remained here,” he added.
The clashes have heightened tensions within the PDP as internal power struggles continue to destabilize the party at the national level.
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