The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has taken a swipe at both proponents and opponents of the proposed coalition within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accusing them of insincerity and self-interest.
Wike made the comments during a televised media chat in Abuja on Friday morning, monitored by our correspondent.
He described the current crisis in the PDP as a result of impunity and lack of honesty among its leading figures.
“None of the faction is being truthful,” Wike declared. “Those who say they want to form a coalition are not truthful to themselves, those who say they don’t want the coalition are also not truthful to themselves. It is just a matter of interest.”
He particularly called out the PDP Governors’ Forum, accusing them of hypocrisy and undermining the authority of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
“Let me start from those who say they don’t want coalition—that is the Governors’ Forum. They are not sincere to themselves, they are not sincere to the party,” he said.
Wike referenced a recent episode of Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ programme where the Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, was interviewed. According to Wike, he personally contacted Governor Makinde afterward to challenge some of his statements.
“I called the governor, Seyi Makinde—my friend—and said, ‘Listen, I heard what you said, but you know you did not say the truth as regards some issues,’” Wike recounted.
He criticised he governors for repeating the very mistakes that led to PDP’s defeat in previous elections, warning that continued impunity could again cost the party dearly.
“You said in 2023 that one of the reasons why PDP lost is impunity—you are right. People who believe they have all it takes and so refused to respect the constitution of the party regarding power sharing between the North and the South. And now, you are also making the same mistake by the impunity of the Governors’ Forum,” Wike said.
“You are repeating the same thing. What happened in 2023 may likely repeat itself. If you don’t stop this impunity, it will affect the party.”
The former Rivers State governor argued that while governors are influential, they must not overstep their bounds or usurp the duties of the NWC.
“The Governors’ Forum is a pressure group that can influence the National Working Committee. You cannot take the function of the NWC and say because you are a governor, you now superintend over it,” he said. “There was never a time when I was a governor that governors came out to say, ‘We have directed this man to be acting secretary of the party.’ Never has it happened.”
He continued, “You don’t have the right to say that somebody should be working as National Secretary when there is a National Secretary who has not resigned. You cannot do that.”
Wike lamented the power struggles within the party, saying that the lust for the presidency has blinded members to the need for genuine party-building.
“Everybody wants to be president. Nobody wants to say, ‘Okay, let me build our party so that at the end of the day, our party will be in a formidable position as an opposition party to take over power.’ You don’t do that. The only thing you want is, ‘Let me find a way to be the one.’ If that does not happen to your taste, you scream,” he exclaimed.
He concluded with a stark warning: “You made the mistake yesterday, today you are making the same mistake, tomorrow you will make the same mistake, and then later you will say you were rigged out. Who rigged you out when you have rigged yourselves already by causing crises?”
