…says the party will use all legal means for reconstruction
The leadership of the Kabiru Turaki-led National Working Committee NWC of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday announced that Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike, has again exposed his true intentions of crippling the party ahead of the 2027 presidential election by reiterating his support for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu.
In a statement on Monday, the party's National Publicity Secretary Ememobong Ini said Wike's confession “also confirmed the grounds for his expulsion from the PDP due to anti-party activities.”
Wike at the year-end media chat over the weekend reiterated his support and in fact declared that he is the “number one supporter” of the President, who was unanimously adopted as the All Progressives Congress APC presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 election.
Despite his expulsion from the party, the FCT Minister and former Rivers State Governor during a media chat insisted on remaining a member of the Peoples Democratic Party so that he can effectively carry out his plans from within the party.
The party said that “this fact, which he has shamelessly repeated at many places, is nothing less than a locus classicus of undemocratic audacity”.
The PDP also recalled that Nyesom Wike's attitude is not new, describing him as a “constant agent provocateur in the political arena who is stirring up trouble to hide his selfish intentions.”
According to the party, “Since assuming power as Governor of Rivers State in 2015, Wike has been a time and again trouble maker in the leadership of the PDP.
“From the Sheriff era, where he was a pioneer in the Sheriff-for-National Chairman movement and later came forward to fight and remove Sheriff; later he supported the Uche Secundus-for-National Chairman movement (in fact, he gave a very incendiary interview that polarized the party just before the convention) and then the same person fighting to remove Secundus”.
The PDP also noted that the same Wike led the movement to make Iorchiya Ayu the national chairman against the advice of many party leaders, and soon after, it was Wike who again led the Ayu-must-go struggle.
“Beyond the national leadership crisis, his actions within Rivers State further illustrate this pattern.
“The imposition of candidates, internal exclusionary practices, and the unprecedented prevention of a duly nominated PDP presidential candidate from campaigning in a PDP-controlled state remains a disturbing deviation from democratic norms.
“Wike politics thrives on constant conflict, attention seeking and seeking relevance through deliberate disruption and when attention is lacking, attempts to destroy everything”
The party said that through the interview, Wike revealed clear indications of his fear of losing the attention of the President, his slipping grip on Rivers State and his frustration with the unyielding nature of the true leadership of the PDP at the national level.
“The cumulative effect of these actions is a deliberate creation of tension and division, often deployed as leverage to pursue narrow political objectives.”
“It is now clear from recent public statements and alignments that Wike and his group of friends have openly chosen to work against the collective interest of the PDP in favor of an opposition political platform.”
The PDP declared that “His façade of pretense has fallen off and while he and his group of friends (Sam Anyanwu and company) will support the President and the APC in the presidential elections, Nigerians are now clearly aware of his disposition to destroy the PDP as part of the deal to support the President – it is a secret deal made by him for his selfish reasons”.
The party reminded Wike that as a lawyer, he knows that agreements made to achieve an illegal objective are not enforceable and should not be encouraged.
The party also assured Nigerians that the PDP will field a credible presidential candidate who will enjoy the overwhelming support of Nigerians and win the presidential election in 2027.
“Our party is the People's Democratic Party, and no single person has the ability to privatize the party.
“The National Working Committee led by Kabiru Turaki is working round the clock to rebuild the party, resolve issues in court and prepare the party for 2027 electoral success.”
