The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the declaration by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike, that he is number 1 supporter of President Bola Tinubu’s planned re-election in 2027, justified his expulsion from the party at the PDP National Convention in Ibadan last November.
PDP in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Ini Emembong, said Wike’s declaration of support of candidate of another political party “is nothing less than a locus classicus of anti-democratic adventurism.”
The party however stated that Wike’s attitude is not new, “as he has been a constant agent provocateur in the political space, creating trouble to mask his selfish intentions.”
PDP noted that since he assumed office as Rivers State governor in 2015, “Wike has been a recurrent troublemaker in the leadership of the PDP.
“From the Sheriff era, where he was a forerunner in the Sheriff-for-National Chairman movement and later turned to fight and remove Sheriff; later he championed the Uche Secondus-for-National Chairman movement … and then was the same person fighting to remove Secondus.
“The same Wike led the movement to produce Dr. Iyorchia Ayu as National Chairman against the advice of many party leaders, and so soon thereafter, it was Wike again who led the Ayu-must-go struggle.”
It added that beyond the national leadership crises, Wike’s actions within Rivers State further illustrate this pattern.
The party stated that 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 remain Wike’s “troubling departures from democratic norms.
“Wike’s politics thrives on perpetual conflict, feeding on attention and seeking relevance through calculated disruption and when starved of attention, seeks to destroy everything.”
The party noted that all through the interview, Minister Wike showed obvious signs of fear of losing the attention of the president, “his slipping grip of Rivers State, and his frustration with the unbending 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 advance narrow political objectives.”
PDP said the recent public statements and alignments is clear that Wike and his group of friends have openly chosen to work against the PDP’s collective interest in favour of an opposing political platform.
It added that Nigerians are now aware of their disposition to destroy the PDP as a part of their bargain to support the president, but reminded Wike that as a lawyer, he knows that agreements made to achieve an illegal purpose are not enforceable and should not be encouraged.
PDP however assured Nigerians that it will field a presidential candidate in the 2027, adding that the Kabiru Turaki-led NWC is working to rebuild the party.
