Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has described the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as “long dead,” attributing the party’s ongoing crisis to impunity, arrogance, and disregard for internal democracy by some of its governors.
Speaking during his monthly media chat in Abuja on Friday, Wike said the mass defections from the party were predictable, insisting that “everything I warned about has come to pass.”
“Tsunami has been happening. Don’t you see people leaving their parties? I said from Day One that with what is going on, if it continues, the PDP will lose. I said it severally, and that is what is happening today,” he said.
The former two-term governor of Rivers State, who was a key PDP power broker before joining the Tinubu administration, criticised governors who once oversaw the party’s internal processes but are now deserting it. He cited the governor of Enugu, former chairman of the PDP convention committee, and Governor Diri of Bayelsa, former chairman of the zoning committee, as examples.
Wike also dismissed claims that he was responsible for the party’s collapse following the 2022 presidential primaries, saying the PDP’s failure stemmed from internal mismanagement and disregard for due process, even reaching the Supreme Court.
“No opposition party carries on with such impunity. You are supposed to put your house in order to take power from the ruling party, but instead, you are fighting yourselves,” he said.
Reacting to rumours that President Bola Tinubu had instructed him to suspend his media chats, Wike described the claims as “laughable” and reiterated his commitment to updating the public on FCT activities. He also refuted reports about his health, saying he had neither been sick nor travelled abroad.
On internal PDP developments, including the North-West stakeholders’ purported adoption of former minister Tanimu Turaki as consensus national chairman, Wike denied involvement and criticised the party’s factionalism.
He also denied knowledge of any presidential ambition by former President Goodluck Jonathan for 2027 and dismissed suggestions that he had any influence over the appointment of the new INEC chairman.
Addressing reports involving detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, Wike stated that he would respond if officially summoned by the court.
