•SMBLF warns Nigeria drifting towards one-party state  

•Police seal party secretariat amid escalating factional crisis 

•Prof Kila wants INEC to mandate political parties to hire psychiatrists 

•Crisis normal in politics, Says Oluyede

Chuks Okocha, Sunday Aborisade, Linus Aleke in Abuja, Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi and Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti 

The Board of Trustees (BoT) the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the invasion of the partys national secretariat by some of the expelled members, to unleash violence on party members in an attempt to forcefully take over the complex. 

This was contained in a press release by Senator Adolphus Wabara, Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

According to the release, The BoT also condemns the action of the expelled elements who mobilised the thugs to attempt to prevent the elected members of the National Working Committee (NWC) led by the new National Chairman, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN and accompanied by the Governor of Bauchi State and Chairman of PDP Governors Forum, Senator Bala Mohammed, his Oyo State counterpart, Engr. Seyi Makinde and other party leaders from gaining access into the complex. 

Tear gas was fired at the governors and party leaders while the thugs unbridled violence on the PDP National Secretariat. 

The BoT noted with dismay the involvement of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Nyesom Wike, (also expelled from the party), who came to the scene with heavy security in apparent solidarity with the invaders.

The board, however, saluted the courage and resilience of the governors, NWC and BoT members, other party leaders, teeming members and supporters for resisting the invaders.

The release further stated that, The BoT stands firmly with the new NWC in full endorsement of the outcome of the Elective National Convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State on the 15th and 16th of November 2025.

The Convention was convened in strict compliance with the Partys Constitution, and Guidelines, the Electoral Act, all extant regulations, and it represents the collective will of delegates and stakeholders of the PDP across the country. 

The BoT, therefore, denounced the statements, actions and media pronouncements by individuals who were expelled from the party.

Their attempts to undermine the legitimacy of the Ibadan Convention and create confusion within the party structure are not only mischievous but also constitute a direct assault on the principle of internal democracy in our country.

The BoT calls on the Inspector-General of Police to investigate the wave of attacks on the PDP National Secretariat and ensure that those responsible are held to account. Democracy thrives only where institutions remain impartial, professional, and insulated from partisan manipulation.

As the conscience of the party, the BoT remains committed to safeguarding the unity and democratic values of the PDP and ensuring that the mandate freely given by party members at the Ibadan Convention is respected. 

The Board therefore urges the new NWC not to be deterred but remain focused on rebuilding and repositioning our Party as we march to victory in the 2027 general elections, the release concluded. 

PDP Crisis: SMBLF Warns Nigeria Drifting Towards One-Party State

The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has issued a warning over what it described as the accelerating erosion of Nigerias democratic foundations, declaring that recent political developments suggested an orchestrated drift toward a de-facto one-party state. 

The forum said the unfolding situation, if not halted, threatened to push the country into a political crisis unprecedented since the return to civil rule in 1999.

Rising from a high-level meeting held yesterday at PANDEFs liaison office in Abuja, the Forum said it was gravely alarmed by the behaviour of political elites, the conduct of security agencies, and what it termed the disturbing inertia of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under its new chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan. 

The meeting was chaired by the National Leader of Afenifere, HRM Oba Oladipo Olaitan, and attended by top officials of the Middle Belt Forum and the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).

They  included their presidents, Dr. Pogu Bitrus (represented) and Ambassador Godknows Igali. Also present were former governors, former senators, traditional rulers, and other regional leaders.

In the communique issued at the end of the session, SMBLF said it could no longer keep silent as the nations multi-party structure came under what it described as direct, coordinated and dangerous assault.

We condemn in the strongest terms the emerging tendency among the political class to railroad the country towards single-party control of key democratic structures at the federal and subnational levels. 

This tendency is carried out through mass defections, intimidation, opportunistic alliances and political horse-trading devoid of any ideological basis.

Speaking further, Oba Olaitan warned that the pattern of defections sweeping across the political landscape was not just business as usual but part of a deeper crisis. 

Democracy cannot survive where political pluralism is weakened or forcibly manipulated. This growing pattern of decamping without ideological basis is dangerous, unhealthy and must be checked immediately. We must call things by their names: what is unfolding is not politics but domination, he said.

Oluyede: PDP Crisis Normal in Politics

Governorship candidate of the PDP in Ekiti State, Dr. Wole Oluyede, has downplayed the internal crisis rocking the party, insisting that disagreements were normal in political organisations and would not derail PDPs march toward victory in the 2026 governorship election.

Speaking with journalists in Ado Ekiti yesterday, Oluyede said political parties across the world experienced moments of tension, adding that Ekitis issues remained local and manageable.

Parties always have issues. Anywhere in the world. Thats why they are called political parties. We will have problems and we will solve them. 

We have leaders capable of doing that. Politics is local, and I am not running for a national office. I am running to be the governor of Ekiti State. All I need is Ekiti people behind me  and thats what were going to get.

Oluyede expressed confidence in the PDPs preparedness for the forthcoming election, noting that the partys last primary election was one of the most peaceful in Ekitis history.

INEC Should Mandate Political Parties to Hire Psychiatrists, Suggests Prof Kila

Director at the Institute of the Commonwealth, jurist, political economist, strategist, and policy analyst, Prof. Anthony Kila, has advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to mandate political parties to have well-trained psychiatrists among them as part of ongoing electoral reforms.

According to him, what transpired at the National Secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday demonstrated the need for political parties to involve psychiatrists.

I understand this morning that a lot of psychiatrists are not where they ought to be. It might be a good idea that INEC should include a law to say that every party should have an in-house psychiatrist to deal with issues of the party as well, he said on Arise News The Morning Show.

According to him, What we saw there is a show of shame in terms of form and process. The content can be legitimate, but it underlines a flaw in the Nigerian partisan political elite class.

Normally, political parties are made up of people of like minds who are bound together by a common, shared purpose.

The fact that these people can deploy police officers, shout, shove, and resort to expelling and fighting one another shows you theyre not like minds.

Theyre not friends, theyre not peers. There are people there to grab power, and this, I must say, today, is the PDP. It could be anybody tomorrow. I see that most partisan, most political parties in Nigeria share these uncivilized, unbecoming, uninspiring traits, and I think we need to look at it as a system problem, not just as a PDP problem.

Police Seal PDP National Secretariat Amid Escalating Factional Crisis

Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, yesterday, sealed the National Secretariat of the PDP at Wadata Plaza, Abuja, following renewed tensions between rival factions within the main opposition party.

The closure came less than 24 hours after a violent confrontation broke out at the secretariat between the Saminu Turaki-led faction and supporters aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

The clash resulted in chaos within the premises, during which Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed were reportedly teargassed as security operatives struggled to restore order.

In an obvious move to prevent a breakdown of law and order the police  used barbed wire to create barricade, to prevent people from accessing the premises.

The police were yet to issue an official statement regarding the sealing of the building or the next steps in managing the crisis.

The factions crisis rocking the PDP  escalated on Wednesday when the warring factions scheduled meetings same day and venue at the plaza headquarters of the party.

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