The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has issued a strong warning to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), cautioning that any move to welcome Peter Obi back into its ranks ahead of the 2027 general elections would be politically disastrous.
Speaking during a media chat on Monday, Wike criticised the party’s leadership for failing to learn from the missteps of the 2023 election cycle, which he said contributed to its poor performance at the polls.
He recalled how internal concerns were raised in 2022 about the dangers of allowing both the party’s presidential candidate and national chairman to come from the North, an arrangement he described as unjust, unbalanced, and politically tone-deaf.
“From day one, I told my colleagues in PDP, you are shooting yourself in the foot,” Wike said.
“You cannot have both the presidential candidate and the national chairman from the same region. It was clear that it would cost us dearly, and it did.”
The former Rivers State governor went further to describe the decision as a “double theft” of key positions within the party, saying that the refusal to uphold fairness and zoning principles eventually backfired.
“You stole the presidential ticket and also stole the national chairmanship. I said it would purge you, and it did. I have no regrets.”
Wike insisted that for the PDP to rebuild and remain relevant, it must return to the principle of power rotation, emphasizing that the presidency should shift to the South in 2027.
Reacting to speculations about Peter Obi, the former Labour Party presidential candidate, possibly returning to the PDP, Wike was blunt in his disapproval.
“Bring Obi to where? To the same party he insulted and described as rotten? You want to kill the party? If ambition can take you to Satan’s house, that’s your business—but don’t drag PDP into that.”
He argued that allowing Obi back into the PDP fold would not only erode what is left of the party’s ideological foundation but also expose it to ridicule.
“There’s no ideology anymore, no principle. It’s all about ambition. If you want to destroy the PDP, go ahead—bring Obi.”
Wike restated his long-held position that equity, justice and zoning remain non-negotiable if the PDP hopes to reclaim its political footing ahead of the next election.
