PDP Chairman Turaki Accuses Wike Faction of Violence, Urges Trump to ‘Save Nigerian Democracy’

|By Chinwendu Nwani

Tensions escalated at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday as newly elected National Chairman, Taminu Turaki, accused a serving minister—widely believed to be Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike—of leading thugs to disrupt a scheduled party meeting.

The crisis erupted after two rival factions—the National Working Committee (NWC) elected at the Ibadan convention and the faction loyal to Wike—fixed parallel meetings for the same day. The clash reportedly turned violent, with the Wike faction chased out of the secretariat amid heavy confrontation.

Speaking to journalists shortly after the incident, Turaki condemned the “mayhem,” alleging that the minister acted with “active connivance and support of the police.”

Turaki issued an unusual international appeal, calling on United States President Donald Trump and other advanced democracies to intervene and “save Nigeria’s democracy.”

“What is at stake is not just genocide against Nigerian Christians; he should come and save democracy in Nigeria—democracy is under threat,” Turaki declared. “We are willing to lay down our lives to protect our office, to protect our democracy, to protect our mandate.”

He urged Nigerians and the international community to take note of what he described as a growing threat to the nation’s democratic stability.