Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Nyesom Wike, has taken a swipe at Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State over the claim that he (Wike) pledged to “hold” the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for President Bola Tinubu.
Wike, who denied the allegation, also criticised his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, stating that his defection from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was belated and was not backed by any solid political structure to support his new party.
During a media interaction in Ibadan last Tuesday, Makinde said his relationship with Wike deteriorated after the former Rivers State governor made what he described as an unsolicited remark during a meeting with President Tinubu.
“I was in a meeting with the President, Wike, the President’s Chief of Staff and two others. Wike said to the President, “I will hold the PDP for you against 2027,” Makinde had said, noting that the statement left him surprised.
However, Wike, who spoke yesterday during his end-of-year media chat in Port Harcourt, explained that the meeting was not about the PDP but was aimed at demonstrating support for Tinubu’s leadership and reaffirming continued loyalty.
According to him, his support for Tinubu has always been public and did not require any special meeting to confirm it.
“Seyi said I told Tinubu that I would hold PDP for him. Nothing like that happened. Everyone knows my position on Tinubu. I don’t need a meeting to tell him that,” Wike said.
He added that as a minister, he has a responsibility to ensure that members of the G-5 group benefit from the Tinubu administration in one form or another.
Wike further alleged that Makinde was unhappy because Tinubu did not approve his preferred nominee for a ministerial position.
He also claimed that he had not received the same level of support that Makinde allegedly obtained from Tinubu, including the reported N50 billion grant for victims of the Bodija explosion in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
However, Makinde’s Special Adviser on Media, Dr Suleimon Olanrewaju, clarified that only N30 billion was released, explaining that part of the funds was paid directly to victims as immediate relief, while the remaining amount was channelled into rebuilding and restoration.
Despite this clarification, Wike maintained that the Oyo governor still owed the people of the state an explanation on how the funds were utilised, adding that such spending should have been properly appropriated before disbursement.
Fubara Has No Political Structure In APC — Wike
Wike, who mocked Fubara, said that before the governor resigned from the PDP, about 22 local government chairmen in the state and half of the House of Assembly members had already left the PDP and moved to the APC, and that the governor only took the decision to follow afterwards.
“As a governor, he has the state Assembly to move with, he has the council chairmen to move with, he has the party chairmen and members of the National Assembly to move with, but in this case, who did he move with? These people decided to move on their own.”
Wike reiterated that chanting slogans in support of Tinubu does not automatically guarantee a return ticket. “Shouting on your mandate we shall stand does not imply automatic ticket. It doesn’t mean that.”
He denied that there was any form of celebration on the day Fubara defected to the APC in Government House, Port Harcourt, adding, “There is nothing like 001 in Rivers State. When you defect, you go to your ward and register for a new party.”
Through this remark, the minister attempted to dismiss claims that Fubara is the political leader of the state, contrary to the position earlier stated by the state chairman, Chief Tony Okocha, when he issued the governor his APC membership registration number, 0001.
Wike said that any day he decides to leave the PDP, those who are loyal to him, including supporters in other states, will follow him out of the party.
Responding to Fubara’s earlier comment that anyone who wishes to support Tinubu should “not follow corner, corner,” the minister insisted that he has been the most attacked minister in the current administration because he supported President Tinubu.
“Nigerians know that in 2023, I supported the President. I didn’t hide that. If I am doing corner corner, the Assembly people will not go, the National Assembly members will not go. That is leadership. I support President Tinubu. With what the President is doing in Abuja, there is no way PDP will win the FCT in the next election.”
On the alleged collapse of the peace agreement brokered by the President in Rivers State, Wike admitted that it failed because Fubara did not keep to his side of the arrangement, adding that the governor was not being open about his working relationship with the leadership of the Assembly.
PDP Counters Wike Over Claims Of Party Collapse In Rivers
Meanwhile, the PDP has rejected Wike’s claim that the party no longer exists in Rivers State.
Acting chairman of the PDP in Rivers State, Nname Ewor, stated that the party remains fully operational in the state despite the defection of Fubara, 16 state Assembly members, and some federal lawmakers.
He said: “The APC in Rivers State is led by Fubara while the PDP in Rivers State is led by my humble self.
“I also listened to him when he said people should keep to the agreement. I don’t know what he is referring to. To the best of my knowledge, what I know is that the people of Rivers State entered a social contract with the governor in 2023.
“They gave him a mandate for a period of four years. It is for the people of Rivers State to renew that mandate in 2027. If there is any agreement between him (Wike) and the governor, it is personal.
“It has nothing to do with the people of Rivers State, who are in the position to renew or not to renew the mandate. I am sure that with the way the governor is performing, the people will renew that mandate.
“The FCT Minister, as we speak, does not belong to any political party. The PDP has expelled him, and he is not in APC. So, he can afford to say that. But every Rivers man knows that the governor is leading the APC in Rivers State and that I am leading the PDP.”
Ewor added that the wave of defections in the state was driven by personal interests and not by the general welfare of the people, stressing that the departures do not significantly affect the party or the citizens.
Also, acting Secretary of the PDP in the state, Chief Ojima Ochima, warned the FCT Minister against attempting to trigger tribal or ethnic conflict in pursuit of political dominance.
Ochima stated that Wike’s remarks about the supposed supremacy of the Ikwerre in the state’s political structure were unfounded, emphasising that all ethnic groups in Rivers State are equally important.
