Makinde-backed PDP regrets offering Wike platform, apologises to Nigerians

A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) backed by Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has expressed regret over giving the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, a platform that enabled his rise in Nigeria’s political space.

The faction also apologised to Nigerians for its role, saying that without the opportunity provided by the PDP, Mr Wike would not have allegedly subjected the party to ridicule in pursuit of personal interests aligned with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, stated this in a statement issued on Wednesday in response to comments made by Mr Wike during his monthly media chat.

During the media chat, the TCT maintained that the faction led by Abdulrahman Mohammed is the authentic leadership of the party.

He challenged the rival faction led by Kabiru Turaki to demonstrate its legitimacy by operating transparently, including disclosing the account used for the purchase of expression of interest and nomination forms.

The minister also threatened to seal any building in Abuja used openly by Mr Turaki’s faction for its operations.

Responding, Mr Turaki’s faction described the minister as becoming increasingly “delusional” and apologised to Nigerians for giving him a platform through which he rose from local government chairman to minister of state for education, two-term governor, and now FCT minister.

“That show of shame deserves no response; hence, this statement is therefore not a response to his tirade, which is indeed his political swan song and the last kicks of a dying horse.

“This statement is rather a profuse apology to Nigerians for offering a platform to a person whose conduct, speeches, and reasoning have become not just a national but an international disgrace. We must acknowledge that if we did not lend our platform to make him a Chairman, Minister of State, and Governor, the nation would have been saved the unmitigated damage done to the psyche of countless Nigerians,” he said.

The faction also urged party leaders allegedly defamed by Mr Wike during the media chat to seek legal redress.

“We admonish those he has defamed to seek legal redress, as no one is, and should be allowed to be, above the law,” the statement said.

Mr Ememobong further claimed that Mr Wike’s ambition was to become the national leader of the PDP, insisting that no such office exists in the party’s constitution.

“As the legitimate leadership of our political party, we sympathise with Wike for the pain concomitant with the realisation that he will not and can never be the National Leader of our party, as no such office exists in our constitution; and even if it did, he, by conduct and speech, would be grossly insufficient to assume such an exalted office,” he said.

He also accused the Wike-backed faction of receiving payments for expression of interest and nomination forms through private accounts.

“We understand his frustration about the commencement of the sale of forms and activities to hold primaries and eventually a national convention where a credible Nigerian will emerge as the presidential candidate. This will mean that he has failed in his promise to “hold down” the party for his principal.

“The sale of forms is ongoing, and there is nothing Wike can do about it. His delusional boast of dealing with banks that will open accounts for us is delusional, as he is already aware that we are operating accounts of the party, which is why his group of friends are receiving money through private accounts,” the statement said.

On the Supreme Court judgement invalidating the Mr Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC), Mr Ememobong said the ruling effectively created a vacuum in the party’s leadership, which necessitated the inauguration of an interim committee by the National Executive Committee (NEC) on Monday.

“On the issues he raised about the judgement, while awaiting the release of the Certified True Copies of the dismissed cross-appeals, we would be glad to have the minister tell the world what the reliefs in the cross-appeals filed by his friends were, and what the judgement of the court was.”

He added that no amount of intimidation would stop the faction from carrying out its activities.

“Nigerians are assured that there is no amount of threats that will frighten the truth, and that though lies like those vomited by Wike travel faster than the truth, they will not reduce the efficacy of the truth when it arrives,” he stated.

The rival factions have also released separate timetables and schedules of activities for the 2027 general elections. While the faction led by Mr Turaki fixed the cost of the presidential expression of interest and nomination forms at N100 million, the Wike-backed faction pegged its own at N51 million.

Legally, however, both factions face a bigger challenge which is validity of outcomes. With the PDP yet to resolve its leadership dispute following the Supreme Court judgement, any primaries conducted by either bloc risk being contested. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) traditionally recognises only candidates emerging from processes conducted by duly recognised party leadership, raising the possibility that one faction’s candidates could ultimately be invalidated.

This creates a scenario where aspirants must weigh not just cost, but risk whether to invest heavily in a process that may not produce legally recognised candidacies.

Messrs Wike and Makinde, who are backing the Turaki faction, were key members of the G-5 governors, also known as the “Integrity Group,” formed within the PDP ahead of the 2023 general elections. The group, which also included former governors Samuel Ortom, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Okezie Ikpeazu, opposed the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over the party’s refusal to zone its presidential ticket to the South and demanded the resignation of the then-National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.

The internal crisis weakened the PDP’s campaign structure and deepened divisions within the opposition party before the presidential election. Although the G-5 governors did not openly endorse another PDP candidate, their rebellion and refusal to fully support Atiku were widely seen by political observers as major factors that contributed to the party’s defeat in the 2023 presidential election won by Bola Tinubu of the APC.