The Peoples Democratic Party’s congress in Niger State has been disrupted by violence following agitation by supporters of the incumbent chairman of the party who want him to stay on for a second term.
After waiting for more than six hours for the commencement of the congress which was scheduled to hold by 10 am, some youths began protesting, alleging that there was a plan to impose another candidate Mukhtar Mohammed on them by conducting an election.
Such a move, they said, was contrary to an initial agreement reached by the party members to affirm the current chairman Tanko Beji.
The two contestants for the Chairmanship position are the incumbent chairman, Tanko Beji, and Mukhtar Mohammed.
Things took a turn for worse when a former Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Baba Shehu Agaie, was attacked by a mob upon his arrival to the venue.
He was hit several times with sticks for allegedly withholding tags that were meant for delegates from his area before being rescued by security personnel.
Even with the presence of security operatives, the agitators could not be tamed.
As anger boiled over, giving way to violence, members of the electoral committee led by the PDP governorship candidate in Borno State in the 2019 general elections were whisked away by security guards who shot into the air to disperse the agitators.
As of the time of this report, many supporters of the PDP were still around the party’s secretariat amid speculations that a secret congress might still hold.
None of the party leaders in the state could be immediately reached for comments.
Meanwhile, some of the delegates and other members who spoke to Channels Television have expressed disappointment over the way the congress turned out.
A member of the party, Ibrahim Bilyaminu described what happened has unfortunate.
“PDP is one big family. So, we are not happy with what happened today,” Bilyaminu said.
Another member, Yusuf King, said, “It is a shame to our party.”
Prior to the congress, some top members of the party under the aegis of PDP Stakeholders led by a former Deputy Governor Dr Nuhu Zagbayi had accused the immediate past Governor, Dr Babangida Aliyu, of undue interference in the party.
