PDP crisis: ‘Stop being fraudulent,’ Wike blasts Makinde, Turaki, others

Dares rival faction to open party account, secretariat

.FCT minister’s comments “an unsolicited display of political recklessness,” says Makinde-backed PDP

STEPHEN GBADAMOSI, IBADAN

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday, launched a scathing attack on factions within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by the Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, Taminu Turaki and others, accusing them of fraud and deliberate disregard for court rulings in the lingering leadership crisis.

Speaking during a media chat with journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, Wike dismissed claims of an interim leadership arrangement in the party, describing such moves as illegal and deceptive.

“When will people stop being fraudulent? You cannot disobey court judgments and then turn around to deceive Nigerians that you have a legitimate structure. That is not how democracy works,” he said.

The minister insisted that only a court-recognised leadership could validly run the affairs of the party, warning that any parallel structure amounted to illegality.

“You don’t form a leadership in your bedroom and call it a national structure. Let them open an office anywhere and call it PDP secretariat I dare them. That is how you know what is real and what is not,” Wike stated.

He argued that ongoing attempts to constitute what he described as an “illegal caretaker arrangement” were efforts to mislead party members and the public, stressing that the judiciary had already provided clarity on the matter.

“The court has made it clear who should run the affairs of the party pending a lawful convention. You cannot ignore that and start setting up another structure. That is fraud 419,” he added.

Wike further criticised what he termed the erosion of integrity among some political actors, including senior lawyers and party leaders, accusing them of undermining institutions for personal gain.

“People you expect to uphold the law are the ones trying to bend it. That is the tragedy of our system,” he said.

The FCT minister also challenged rival factions in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to open an official party bank account and secretariat, if they truly believe they control the opposition party’s structure.

Speaking during a live media chat with journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, Wike accused some party leaders of misleading Nigerians and violating court judgments in the lingering leadership crisis rocking the PDP.

The former Rivers State governor insisted that the faction opposing the party’s recognised leadership lacked legal standing and could not lawfully operate the affairs of the party.

“You cannot continue to deceive Nigerians. If they are sure they are the authentic leadership of the PDP, let them open an official PDP account and tell party members to pay nomination fees into it,” Wike said.

He specifically challenged Taminu Turaki, SAN, and other leaders of the rival camp to test their claims by opening a bank account in the name of the PDP.

“Let Turaki, as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, open an account for the PDP. Let them announce it publicly for members who want to contest elections. That day, you will see what will happen,” he stated.

Wike argued that no bank would recognise such an account because the faction allegedly lacks the legally recognised party structure and documentation required to operate.

“That bank will be in trouble because to open such an account, you must provide the party’s authentic documents and recognised leadership. Who has those documents?” he queried.

The FCT minister also warned against attempts to establish what he described as illegal party offices, vowing that any action capable of causing a breakdown of law and order in Abuja would not be tolerated.

“If anybody goes ahead to open an illegal office in the name of the PDP in Abuja, I will seal it. I will not allow any breach of peace because my duty is to maintain law and order in the Federal Capital Territory,” he said.

Wike maintained that court judgments had already settled the dispute over the PDP leadership and convention issues, accusing some actors of twisting judicial pronouncements for political convenience.

“People should stop deceiving Nigerians. The judgments are clear. You cannot ignore court decisions and begin to create parallel structures,” he added.

The minister further dismissed claims that the Supreme Court ruling favoured the rival faction, insisting that the legal processes and decisions available supported his position and that of the recognised party leadership.

According to him, attempts to reinterpret the judgments outside the established legal context were aimed at confusing party members and the public.

Wike said he remained a committed member of the PDP and was only defending what he described as constitutional order and due process within the party.

The PDP has remained embroiled in internal leadership disputes following disagreements over the party’s convention, caretaker arrangements and recognition of key national officers ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) backed by the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has issued a statement against the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, following his media appearance on Wednesday in which he made a series of controversial remarks.

In a statement released on Wednesday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the party condemned Wike’s comments as “an unsolicited display of political recklessness” and accused him of attacking respected Nigerians without restraint.

The PDP said the minister’s media engagement, which it described as publicly funded, “threw decency to the wind” and amounted to a performance “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

In the statement, the party said Wike’s media outing hours earlier did not warrant a response but instead called for an apology to Nigerians over his conduct.

Ememobong said: “Nigerians today witnessed what can only be described as an unsolicited display of political rascality, moral emptiness, crass opportunism, and post-defeat trauma by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

“The Minister cast aside restraint and maligned several distinguished Nigerians with what can best be described as ‘sound and fury, signifying nothing.’”

The party said it would ordinarily have ignored the remarks, but chose to address Nigerians directly, framing its intervention as an apology for previously elevating Wike to public office.

“This statement is therefore not a reply to his tirade, which we consider his political swan song and the last kicks of a dying horse, but an apology to Nigerians for having, at any point, enabled a public figure whose conduct, utterances and reasoning have become a national embarrassment with international consequences.

“We urge those defamed in his remarks to seek legal redress. No individual is, or should be, above the law,” the statement added.

The party also dismissed suggestions that Wike could assume an overarching role, insisting no such position exists within its structure.

“As the legitimate leadership of our party, we also express sympathy for the Minister over the apparent realisation that he will neither become, nor can he become, the National Leader of the party, an office that does not exist in our constitution.

 “We note his frustration over the commencement of the sale of nomination forms and the progression towards party primaries and a national convention, through which a credible Nigerian will emerge as presidential candidate.

“The process is underway and will not be derailed. His claim that he will frustrate any bank that provides services to the party is unfounded, as the party continues to operate its accounts,” Ememobong said.

On legal issues raised by the Minister, the PDP said it was awaiting certified true copies of the relevant court decisions and challenged him to clarify his claims.

“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 judgment of the court was.

 “Nigerians can be assured that no amount of threats will suppress the truth. While falsehood may travel faster, it does not diminish the force or eventual triumph of the truth,” Ememobong said.