The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has announced his withdrawal from all previously agreed reconciliation arrangements within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accusing key party leaders of betrayal, dishonesty, and repeated breaches of agreed terms.
In a statement released on Sunday, Wike traced the root causes of the PDP’s internal conflicts back to the aftermath of the 2023 general elections.
He lamented the party’s continuous decline into “dishonesty and lack of trust amongst its key stakeholders.”
“Since after the 2023 General Election, the PDP has been wantonly swinging from one part of a slippery precipice to another,” Wike stated, emphasizing that numerous attempts were made to “arrest this pernicious virus of dishonesty and treachery.”
The former Rivers State governor and influential G5 group member blamed Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State for undermining the reconciliation efforts, accusing him of being “the architect of our problems.”
“I made it clear to the Governor of Oyo State, HE, Seyi Makinde, that he was the architect of our problems, pointing out to him that non-adherence to agreements reached was the bane of the party, and that he was the chief culprit of this anomaly,” Wike revealed.
He disclosed that during a G5 meeting in Lagos, party governors resolved to put aside their differences and move forward.
This was followed by a broader gathering in Abuja at Senator Bukola Saraki’s guest house, attended by Governors Bala Mohammed, Umaru Fintiri, Makinde, Saraki, and other top PDP officials.
According to Wike, the Abuja meeting resulted in clear resolutions such as recognizing Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary in line with a Supreme Court judgment, withdrawing all court cases related to Rivers State by the party’s National Legal Adviser, and ending disputes about the state of emergency in Rivers.
However, Wike lamented that these agreements were “quickly and brazenly violated,” even before the Saraki-led reconciliation committee could commence its work.
“To my chagrin, Seyi Makinde had connived with Peter Mba of Enugu State to orchestrate the summoning of the meeting of so-called South-East leaders to recommend that if Ude Okoye was not adopted as Secretary, they would pull out of the PDP,” he alleged.
Wike further accused party officials of sidelining Anyanwu by presenting the Deputy National Secretary as acting National Secretary and using a letter from him to call for a National Executive Committee meeting, moves he said were “in complete violation of the agreements reached.”
He cited an incident on May 24, 2025, in Jos, where a PDP zonal elective congress was aborted because INEC refused to attend.
The refusal was because the invitation letter was signed by the Deputy National Secretary, not the duly recognized National Secretary.
“This is undeniably distasteful, provocative and annoying, to say the least,” Wike declared.
Reflecting on his long tenure with the PDP since 1998, Wike expressed disappointment that those he helped elevate politically had turned against him.
“It is on record that none of these persons have done anything close to what I have done to sustain this party.”
“What is more painful is that I contributed substantially to most of these governors winning their elections, yet I have not made any personal demands on any of them and I would never do so,” he added.
Declaring a turning point, Wike announced he has lost faith in the trust and unity that once existed among party members and would no longer take part in reconciliation efforts.
“I have now firmly decided to pull out of all agreements hitherto reached. I have decided to fight on until justice is attained,” he concluded.
As at the time of this report, the PDP had not issued an official response to Wike’s latest stance.
Neither Makinde nor Mba has responded to Wike’s accusations.
