Some thugs on Saturday dispersed delegates and members of the faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Kabiru Turaki while they were protesting their denial of access to A-Class Event Centre, the venue where the faction initially planned to hold a special national convention to ratify former President Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that armed police officers barricaded the event centre with patrol vans and blocked the two roads leading to the venue from the Wuse and Maitama Districts preventing members of the faction from gaining access.
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The development followed a warning issued on Friday by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), directing event centres and hotels not to provide their facilities to factions of political parties not recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conventions and other political activities.
However, after being denied access to the original venue, Mr Turaki led members loyal to his faction to a private apartment on Owo Close in the Area 10 in Garki District of Abuja, where the ratification exercise was eventually conducted.
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Shortly after the ratification, Mr Turaki led his supporters back to A-Class Event Centre to engage the police in discussions. On sighting the convoy of the faction’s leader, police officers again stopped him and his loyalists, preventing them from accessing the venue.
Immediately after Mr Turaki left the scene, some hoodlums armed with sticks, iron rods and stones arrived in a Hilux van. They attacked delegates and other members of the faction, even in the presence of police officers.
The hoodlums also attacked journalists covering the event and carted away phones and other valuables. Samuel Ogidan, a senior correspondent with Daily Independent, was assaulted and his phone was stolen. Other journalists fled the scene to avoid being attacked.
The PDP is currently split into two factions, with one led by Abdulrahman Mohammed and backed by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike and the other led by Mr Turaki, who served as special duties minister in the Jonathan administration.
The Wike-backed faction, which INEC recognises, has nominated a former senator, Sandy Onor, as its presidential candidate, while the Turaki faction has adopted Mr Jonathan as its candidate earlier this month.
While Mr Onor has accepted the nomination and urged party members to support his candidacy, Mr Jonathan has remained silent on his adoption by the rival faction
PDP’ll fight back
Before leaving the scene, Mr Turaki addressed journalists at the junction leading to A-Class Event Centre.
Mr Turaki reiterated that his faction would not be intimidated by threats from any quarter.
He said the faction would focus on winning the 2027 elections rather than engaging its opponents in public confrontations.
READ ALSO: PDP faction to present party flag to Jonathan as 2027 presidential candidate
“No matter how highly opinionated they may be about themselves, or no matter how they think that they can use their positions to thwart democracy, we want to tell them that Nigeria is bigger than anybody and any group of persons.
“We will not fight. We will not fight. The time of fighting will come when we meet at the polls. We will meet you there, we’ll fight you there, we’ll defeat you there, and then we will pin you down on the ground. I want to thank our leaders,” he said.
Mr Turaki urged delegates loyal to his faction to resist any provocation.
“I want to plead with our delegates, please go back to your respective destinations. Resist any amount of provocation. We believe we are on the right course. We believe that we are going to win the election. Therefore, fighting is not for us,” he stated.
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