Turaki-led PDP defends chairman’s call for foreign intervention

The newly elected National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ini Ememobong, has condemned the police for firing tear gas canisters directly at party officials and journalists during Tuesday’s confrontation at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television, on Tuesday Ememobong said the party had anticipated resistance ahead of its planned inaugural National Working Committee meeting but had received assurances from the Commissioner of Police after a lengthy meeting on Monday.

“It was anticipated, I mean, because when light and darkness meet—when right and wrong meet—you prepare,.

“We went to the Commissioner of Police. We didn’t just send a letter. He assured us of police cover,” he said.

He noted that members of the newly elected executives had travelled from Ibadan and other parts of the country for the meeting.

Ememobong also defended the PDP chairman’s controversial call for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene in Nigeria’s political situation, arguing that international actors had historically shaped the nation’s democratic path.

“Democracy was evangelised to us. When you look at the third-wave democratisation theory, Nigeria falls squarely into it. America, the United Kingdom, the European Union—they all played critical roles.

“They preached that democracy would protect human rights, entrench norms, and strengthen the economy. Those were the promises,” he said.

Responding to questions on why the party pushed ahead despite anticipating confrontation, he said conceding the space would amount to surrendering democracy to “those who profit from chaos.”

“If a thief gives you notice that he is coming to your house, do you abandon your home and family? You alert the police and stand your ground,” he said.

He accused police officers of firing tear gas canisters at elderly party members, some of whom he said suffer from asthma, hypertension, and other ailments.

“People were injured. The canisters were shot directly at them.

“When it gets to the point where it looks as though all the ruling party wants is blood to water democracy, then what the chairman is saying is simple: if it requires our blood, so be it. Because it appears the president does not understand until blood falls,” he said.

Ememobong argued that Tuesday’s incident unfolded within close proximity to the seat of power and insisted it was unlikely President Bola Tinubu was uninformed.

He warned that the country was gradually sliding toward “electoral authoritarianism” ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The PDP remains mired in an internal leadership crisis.

Earlier on Tuesday, police officers dispersed members attempting to hold the party’s inaugural National Working Committee meeting.

However, the All Progressives Congress on Tuesday immediately berated Turaki over what it described as a reckless and unpatriotic call for foreign intervention in Nigeria’s internal political crisis.