The newly elected National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ini Ememobong, has condemned Tuesday’s violent standoff at the party’s Wadata Plaza headquarters in Abuja.

Ememobong, who was elected at the party’s National Convention in Ibadan, spoke in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday.

The lawyer said the crisis was a pointer to the disturbing decline in Nigeria’s democratic culture and questioned the process surrounding the disputed meeting.

“Is that a NEC meeting? Every NEC meeting must be monitored by INEC. It’s very shameful and a pity that this is happening after six election cycles

“Democratic consolidation should be firm. Democratic norms should be valued. They should form part of our way of life. Sadly, every election cycle seems to be getting worse.

“In a democracy, the majority will have their way, and the minority will have their say. But what you have now is a minority trying to impose its will on the majority,” he said.

Ememobong warned that the incident exposed party members to serious danger.

“Today, people could have been killed. People were injured. The canisters were shot directly at people. Many elderly people have comorbidities. Some have asthma. Some are hypertensive,” he said.

He noted that several Nigerians had died from inhaling tear gas in the past and accused the ruling party of enabling hostility against the opposition.

“When it gets to the point where it looks as though all the ruling party wants is blood to water democracy, what the chairman is saying is that if it means our blood watering it, then so be it,” the factional PDP spokesman said.

He said the president appeared unbothered by the crisis and insisted that political actors must confront these issues through lawful means.

“It looks like until blood falls, the President does not understand. This happened less than 400 metres from where the President is. An opposition party is being stifled. Almost every opposition party has faced one problem or another.

“Until people stand up and confront these things within the ambit of the law, it will amount to electoral authoritarianism,” he said.

Ememobong also addressed conflicting court orders regarding recent party decisions, explaining that several courts had taken positions on the matter.

“No court has jurisdiction over internal affairs of the party. That is the Supreme Court’s position. But if a court, suo motu or after argument, assumes jurisdiction, we respect the court.

“Two Federal High Courts assumed jurisdiction and gave judgments. The court in Ibadan assumed jurisdiction. It’s not my duty to determine correctness. Lawyers will canvass arguments. The courts will rule,” he said.

He added that the appellate courts would eventually determine the issue.

“It is now the duty of the Court of Appeal to sit on appeal over those judgments. The Supreme Court will then give final clarity. All of this will enrich our jurisprudence,” he noted.

Supporters of Senator Samuel Anyanwu tried to block the arrival of Governors Seyi Makinde and Bala Mohammed, who came with the Turaki-led group.

FCT Minister Nyesom Wike stayed in his car for over 30 minutes during the chaos.

Anyanwu insisted he remained National Secretary and said he invited security to handle “intruders.”

After hours of confrontation, Kabiru Turaki declared he had taken control of the secretariat as National Chairman.

A pro-Wike NEC later expelled Makinde, Mohammed, Dauda Lawal, Bode George, Wabara and Turaki, and dissolved six state excos.

The move followed the Ibadan convention, where 11 members, including Wike, Fayose and Anyanwu, were expelled. Some governors opposed the expulsions.

Anyanwu later blamed PDP governors for worsening the crisis but said the party was not dead.

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party took another fiery turn on Tuesday as the factional National Executive Committee loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, ratified the expulsion of Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State.

The NEC also expelled former Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Senator Adolphus Wabara; former National Vice Chairman of the party, Bode George, and the recently elected party National Chairman, Kabiru Turaki, SAN.

The move comes just days after the controversial PDP national convention held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, last Saturday, which saw Wike and his loyalists expelled from the party.

The development triggered Tuesday’s heated confrontation between both camps at the party’s national secretariat in Wadata Plaza, Abuja, where the two factions had scheduled parallel NEC and Board of Trustees meetings.

The factional NEC, at its meeting held at the national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday, also dissolved the state executive councils in Oyo, Bauchi, Zamfara, Yobe, Lagos, and Ekiti States, directing the constitution of caretaker committees and the conduct of fresh congresses.

A communiqué from the meeting, read by National Secretary Senator Sam Anyanwu, stated, “NEC received the report of the Acting National Chairman, Hon. Abdulrahman Mohammed, detailing breaches of Articles 58(1) and 59(1), including anti-party activities, disobedience to court orders, and conduct bringing the party into disrepute.

“NEC approved the commencement of disciplinary procedures against the following: Adolphus Wabara, Olabode George, Ben N. Obi, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, Bala Mohammed, Oluseyi Makinde, Dauda Lawal, Taofiq Arapaja, Setonji Koshoedo, Okechukwu Obiechina Daniel, Woyengikuro Daniel, Mohammed Kadade Suleiman, Emmanuel Ogidi, Sumaila Adamu Burga, Umar Sani, Udom Emmanuel, and Emmanuel Enorden.”