The showdown expected at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national secretariat between two camps who were at daggers drawn ended as an anticlimax yesterday.

On Sunday, the split National Working Committee (NWC), each backed by governors and elders, scheduled two meetings for the same venue.

They took different positions on who the National Secretary of the party is, and whether the 100th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting would be held.

However, it ended in a peaceful agreement.

The Board of Trustees (BoT), whose chairman Senator Adolphus Nwabara spat fire on Sunday in opposition to Senator Samuel Anyanwu as secretary, retreated to a meeting at the Yar’Aduna Centre.

Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo State) and Peter Mbah (Enugu), backing the anti-Anyanwu group against the position of the others, met at the Bauchi State Governors Lodge.

In the end, all came together to attend the enlarged caucus and stakeholders meeting called by Acting National Chairman Iliya Damagun at the secretariat.

At the end of the meeting, two critical decisions were taken – the recognition of Anyanwu as National Secretary and fixing of July 23 as the date for the 100th NEC meeting.

The NEC meeting will approve the convention date and set up machinery for it.

At the meeting were Governors Makinde, Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), Caleb Muftwang (Plateau), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Duoye Diri (Bayelsa); former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Senator Seriake Dickson, Prof. Jerry Gana, Sunday Udeh-Okoye, Chief Eddy Olafeso, and Chief Ali Odefa.

Others were Senator Ben Obi, Chief Bode George, Mrs Josephine Annenih, Hajia Inna Ciroma, Chief Jones Onyereri and Chief Austin Nwachukwu from Ebonyi State, who is the chairman of the Forum of the 37 states and Abuja PDP chairmen.

The meeting was also attended by Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro, House of Representatives Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda; members of the PDP National Working Committee, Secretary of the Board of Trustees and former PDP Chairman, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, current and former national principal officers of the party, current and former principal officers of National Assembly, deputy national officers of the PDP, many state chairmen, National Ex-Officio members, BOT members, immediate past governorship candidates.

The National Organising Secretary,  Captain Bature Umar, described the attendance as broad-based.

He said: “For this meeting, we have accredited 25 national officers, 10 governors, 37 state chairmen, 19 senators, 22 members of the House of Representatives, 31 former principal officers, 33 former governors, 34 former NEC members,  56 members of the Board of Trustees and 30 national ex-officio members, totalling 320 persons accredited for this meeting.”

Damagum told reporters that he and Anyanwu will sign a formal notice for the next NEC.

He said: “So, to our detractors who thought this meeting would go off course or perhaps, be the end of the party, the beauty of the PDP is that it is the only party in this country that has the mechanism to resolve its own problems democratically.

“As you can see, all our governors attended the meeting, and all members of the NWC are on the same page.

“So, you will no longer be seeing all these press releases and counter-press releases.”

He explained that the proposed enlarged National Caucus and NEC meetings gave way for the stakeholders’ meeting, following the consultations that heralded consensus-building.

Bauchi Governor Mohammed, who thanked his colleagues and state party chairmen, said  PDP had overcome its problems.

He added: “This is a miracle of the PDP, the party that has history, that has the pedigree and the human capital to deliver Nigeria.

“We have been engrossed in controversies and challenges, not created by us, but created for us, and we have been discussing and making progress, unlike the other parties, irrespective of the manifestations and the perceptions there.

“The news of people leaving the party is all cosmetic. It will not diminish us.

“I must thank the leaders and all the organs of the party, especially the BoT, the caucuses of the National Assembly, and most importantly, my colleagues and the NWC.

“I must tell the world that the NWC has collapsed all differences, all wrangling.

“They met before this meeting. What you have been seeing in terms of press releases has stopped, and you will not see them again, and that is what the BoT chairman is telling you.

“We are all on the same page. There is no excuse for coalition, no excuse to form any stakeholders’ meeting other than that of the NWC.”

The chairman of the Board of Trustees, Senator Adolphus Wabara, said the party would survive the plots of its enemies to sabotage it.

He said: “I have always contended that this party will never die, no matter what her detractors feel.

“This party will never die, and we thank the NWC for coming together once again, believing that Nigerians have enormous faith and hope in the PDP.

“What is happening here today will shock so many people and I’m sure they will start planning again to bring problems; NWC, don’t allow a crack anymore, because once they now see us coming together, they will wonder why, what happened, who is the native doctor that made this possible, because they do not believe in God. They will start doing something else to destabilise us.”

Senator Moro and Chinda affirmed their colleagues’ commitment to unity and peace in the party.

Security men, comprising the Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), arrived at the party’s national headquarters with their trucks and barricaded the roads leading to the entrance of the secretariat.

They also chased away suspected thugs who had earlier arrived at the secretariat.

Some BoT members who came to the secretariat were also denied access to the building.

One of the security agents hinted that they were deployed to maintain peace by not allowing any of the meetings to be held at the secretariat.

Some of the BoT members denied entrance into the premises including Maina Chiroma and Chief George.

A former National Secretary of the party, Mr Umar Tsauri, who was also denied access, said the security operatives claimed that they were acting by ‘order from above’.

George described the activities of the security agents as ”madness” that must be avoided.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command denied that the party’s office was sealed.

According to a statement by the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, police officers were only deployed to the venue to maintain law and order and ensure public safety in line with the constitutional mandate.

She said: “The FCT Police Command is aware of the news making rounds alleging that police sealed off the PDP Secretariat in Wuse Zone 5, Abuja.

“The Command wishes to categorically state that this information is false, misleading, and does not reflect the true situation on ground.

“Police officers were only deployed to the venue to maintain law and order and ensure public safety in line with their constitutional mandate.

“At no time was the Secretariat sealed off by the police.”