In a defiant and explosive confrontation, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared that no faction within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) can expel him.
This is even as he launched personal attacks on Governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.
The declaration came during a high-stakes meeting in Abuja with members of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Executive Committee, led by the Acting National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulrahman Mohammed.
The meeting gave Wike the opportunity for a direct response to an expulsion notice issued against him by a faction of the party loyal to Governors Mohammed and Makinde, highlighting the deep and seemingly irreparable fissures within the opposition party.
โHow can those who met me in my house now drag me out? I will never allow it,โ Wike thundered, invoking his long-standing history with the PDP to underscore his position.
The former Rivers State governor framed the conflict as a battle between foundational members and opportunistic latecomers, portraying himself as a sacrificial pillar of the party since its inception.
His attack was particularly pointed against Governor Bala Mohammed. โAsk Bala Mohammed which party he ran under as a senator, because our party has always thought that people who come in can become governors and senators,โ Wike stated, questioning the governorโs political consistency and loyalty.
This remark was a clear attempt to diminish the moral authority of his rivals, suggesting they were beneficiaries of the very structure they now sought to purge.
The core of Wikeโs argument was a claim of ownership and legacy. He accused the Makinde-Bala faction of attempting to โkill the partyโ and pursue those who had built it. โThey now think they can pursue those who have made sacrifices for the party from its inception and formation. If people have allowed them before, we will not allow them,โ he warned, signaling a new, more aggressive phase of resistance from his camp.
The meeting itself was a demonstration of Wikeโs enduring influence within a significant bloc of the PDP.
In attendance were prominent figures such as former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Uche Nwucha, National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, and numerous BoT members from across the federation. Their presence lent weight to Wikeโs stance, showing his rebellion is not an isolated one but a movement with substantial backing.
BoT Chairman Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, in his opening address, called for unity above sentiment, a plea that seemed at odds with the fiery condemnations that followed. He revealed ongoing efforts to constitute state caretaker committees to pave the way for congresses, a critical process now mired in the power struggle between the two factions.
This clash is the latest eruption in a crisis that has consumed the PDP since its loss in the 2023 presidential election. The party has been hemorrhaging key members, including the governors of Delta, Akwa Ibom, and Bayelsa states, who defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
. The legal battlefield is equally heated; just days before Wikeโs meeting, a separate faction led by Kabiru Turaki had filed a request for Justice Joyce Abdulmalik to recuse herself from a related suit, alleging bias and seeking a new judgeโa move indicative of the complex, multi-front war being fought in both the court of public opinion and the judiciary.
Wikeโs final charge to his allies was a rallying cry for a protracted fight. He urged stakeholders to โremain firm and strong,โ confidently asserting that those who did not mean well for the party were on their way out.
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