Five months after being sealed due to an internal leadership crisis, the Nigerian Police Force has unsealed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national secretariat at Wadata Plaza in Wuse Zone 5, Abuja. The facility was officially handed over to the faction aligned with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, led by Abdulrahman Mohammed, the party's newly elected National Chairman. The property was sealed in November over a dispute between a caretaker committee led by Abdulrahman Mohammed and a faction headed by Tanimu Turaki, SAN. Access had been denied to journalists, party members and officials until the recent resolution. A Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the police to unseal the premises following the conclusion of the party's national convention, which recognised the caretaker committee as the legitimate leadership. The Legacy House in Maitama, another PDP property, has also been reopened. Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, the party's National Publicity Secretary, confirmed the development in a statement on Sunday. He said the National Working Committee (NWC) has resumed control in compliance with court directives. The statement praised the police for upholding due process and warned against any attempt to disrupt operations at the secretariat. Security agencies have been placed on alert to prevent breaches of peace. The party urged members to embrace unity, citing the resolution as proof that internal challenges have been settled. Special recognition was given to Nyesom Wike for his role in guiding the party through the crisis.
The swift handover of the PDP national secretariat to Abdulrahman Mohammed's faction underscores Nyesom Wike's tightening grip on the party's national structure, just months after his appointment as FCT Minister. That the police acted only after a Federal High Court order—and only after Wike's camp secured victory at the national convention—reveals how deeply legal and institutional processes are now intertwined with political allegiance within the PDP.
The five-month shutdown of the secretariat was not merely a logistical setback; it exposed the fragility of internal party democracy when competing factions lack neutral arbitration. The fact that access was denied to members and media alike highlights how property control has become a proxy for power in Nigerian politics. With the court backing the Wike-aligned leadership, the message is clear: institutional legitimacy now flows from judicial validation of political outcomes, not just internal party consensus.
Ordinary PDP members, especially those in the grassroots and opposition factions, now face a reality where control of party assets depends on alignment with dominant figures. The reopening enables administrative normalcy, but the warning against disruption suggests a leadership preparing to suppress dissent, not reconcile it.
This episode fits a broader pattern: party headquarters seizures, court interventions, and ministerial influence shaping internal party affairs have become routine in Nigerian politics, eroding institutional autonomy in favour of personality-driven control.
