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Wike Blames Makinde for PDP Crises, Pulls Out of Peace Deal
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has pulled out of all reconciliation agreements previously reached within the Peoples Democratic Party, accusing key party leaders of betrayal, dishonesty, and serial violations of mutual understandings.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Wike traced the roots of the PDP’s internal turmoil to the aftermath of the 2023 general elections, lamenting what he described as a steady 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 said, noting that several efforts had been made to “arrest this pernicious virus of dishonesty and treachery.”
Wike, a former governor of Rivers State and a key member of the influential G5 group, blamed Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State for sabotaging 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 stated.
He disclosed that during a G5 meeting in Lagos, the governors had resolved to bury the hatchet and move forward.
This was followed by a broader meeting in Abuja at Senator Bukola Saraki’s guest house, involving other top PDP figures including Governors Bala Mohammed, Umaru Fintiri, and Makinde, alongside Saraki himself.
But Wike said the resolutions were quickly and brazenly violated, even before the Saraki-led reconciliation committee could begin 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 also accused party officials of attempting to sideline 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 Wike 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 reason, he said, was because the letter of invitation was signed by the Deputy National Secretary, not the duly recognised National Secretary.
“This is undeniably distasteful, provocative and annoying, to say the least,” Wike declared.
Reflecting on his long association with the PDP since 1998, Wike expressed dismay that those he helped rise to political prominence 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 said.
Declaring a turning point, Wike said he had lost faith in the trust and camaraderie that once existed among party stakeholders and would no longer participate in any further reconciliation deals.
“I have now firmly decided to pull out of all agreements hitherto reached. I have decided to fight on until justice is attained,” the FCT minister concluded.
The PDP has yet to issue an official response to Wike’s latest position as of the time of filing this report.
Makinde and Mba have yet to respond to the minister’s statement.
The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments were directed at the political situation in Rivers State or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s constitutional decisions on the matter.
In a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation.”
The statement clarified that Vice President Shettima’s remarks at the public presentation of a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were misconstrued by some online platforms and individuals.
“These reports have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda,” it stated.
“They twisted his account of how the administration of former President Jonathan considered removing him as Borno Governor during the insurgency to falsely link it with current events in Rivers State.”
The Vice President, who spoke at the launch of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block in Abuja on Thursday, was said to have referenced the past solely to commend Adoke’s professionalism while in office, and to reflect on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution regarding federal and state relations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal.
“This action was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time, with the governor facing a looming impeachment and the State Assembly complex under demolition,” Nkwocha clarified.
The Presidency insisted that the action taken by President Tinubu in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Governor was fully in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises such measures when there is a breakdown of public order requiring extraordinary intervention.
According to the statement, the President’s proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, confirming the legitimacy and constitutional propriety of the decision.
“The action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading,” the statement further noted.
Nkwocha also stressed that Vice President Shettima’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and intended to underline the importance of public accountability and historical documentation.
He referenced the Vice President’s mention of past public servants, including Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to illustrate principled leadership.
“His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation,” the spokesman stated.
The Vice President, the statement added, remains in “loyal concert” with President Tinubu and is committed to implementing all constitutional measures necessary to safeguard democracy and uphold order across the country.
Concluding, the Presidency called on media organisations and political actors to desist from misrepresenting public remarks for sensational or partisan purposes.
“We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” Nkwocha said.
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Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.
In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).
The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.
The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.
The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the 2024 governorship election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit. It upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor.
