There were strong indications on Monday that armed police personnel who stormed the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were acting on the orders of a serving minister.
The presence of the policemen was to prevent a faction of the party from holding a scheduled National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting at the party’s secretariat.
The faction, reportedly being led by the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has the backing of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and 11 members of the 18-member National Working Committee (NWC).
On the other hand, an opposing faction, led by the party’s Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, had earlier opposed the meeting, opting rather for a national caucus meeting.
Four governors, eight members of the NWC, including the disputed national secretary, Samuel Anyanwu and other leaders belong in this faction.
This faction, which is said to be loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was suspected to have invited the police to prevent the other faction from holding the NEC meeting.
Those for the NEC meeting arrived started arriving for the meeting but they were prevented from having access to the secretariat building.
Members of the BoT who also arrived for the board’s meeting, which usually precedes every NEC meeting, were prevented from entering the facility.
Party sources however, said the governors in Makinde’s camp were holding an emergency meeting at a different location while the BoT members were also meeting at a separate location.
However, as of 1:30 pm, it could not be confirmed if the national caucus meeting, scheduled for 2 pm by the Damagum-led faction would still hold.
