Police disperse; apprehend people at PDP secretariat over security alarm

By Ahmed Abubakar

There was sudden despair and apprehension at the National Secretariat of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party,(PDP) when security personnel invaded the vicinity last night over the suspicion that people that came for primaries of the Taraba State governorship chapter of the Party would unleash attack at the Abuja Secretariat.

Reports indicated that the tension arose following a security alert reportedly raised by the police that some supporters of some of the aspirants were planning to disrupt the exercise and attack the secretariat should they not be allowed to partake.

Consequently, security personnel, comprising the military, Police, Department of State Security Service (DSS) and Nigeria Security Civil Defence Corps, led a Deputy Commissioner of police were drafted to the National Secretariat to secure the place.

At the peak of the tension, everybody within the Secretariat that have nothing to do with the conduct of the primaries, including accredited Journalists were chased out by gun-wielding policemen, who claimed that the order was from the above.

Following the development, a scheduled World Press Conference to be addressed by the National Publicity Secretary of the Party, Chief Olisa Metuh had to be called-off.

It was gathered that trouble started when the party reportedly ruled that only the statutory delegates would be allowed to vote in the primaries and the ad-hoc delegates kicked and threatened to disrupt the exercise and bring down the Secretariat, alleging that there were plots to favour a particular aspirant.

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the party had ordered that the primaries should be brought to Abuja for transparency following complaints and counter complaints by stakeholders in the state on the exercise

As at the press time, there was no official statement over the development as the NWC members were said to have gone out for a meeting in the Presidential Villa,Aso-Rock