The Turaki faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has blamed President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the controversy surrounding Governor Oluseyi Makinde’s reference to the historical violence known as ‘wetie’, insisting the governor issued a sober caution rather than a threat of violence.
In a press statement dated April 26, 2026, the faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, dismissed the APC’s widespread condemnation of Makinde’s speech delivered during the national summit of opposition parties in Ibadan on Saturday.
The governor had recalled the dark episode of ‘wetie’—a descent into uncontrollable political violence triggered by political greed and the asphyxiation of the opposition under a former ruling party. The APC subsequently labeled the recollection as a call to violence, sparking a fierce backlash.
However, the Turaki faction argued that the APC and the Federal Government are overreacting out of guilt.
“The use of history in the way and manner done by Governor Makinde in the said speech served as a caution and advisory to the Federal Government, the APC, and other national institutions, of the unmitigated crisis that their actions and inactions can result in,” Ememobong stated.
“Only a guilty aggressor can interpret it to mean a threat or call to violence. It is common knowledge that those who do not learn from history are doomed by it.”
The faction accused the APC of practicing “elected totalitarianism” and being the architects of conditions that could lead to unrest ahead of the 2027 elections.
“The events that led to the sad incident of ‘wetie’ and the current happenings within the political space, as orchestrated by the APC, are not just similar but identical in both intent and execution,” the statement read.
“When pushed to the wall, people have no other direction to go but forward, against the wall itself.”
The Turaki faction also reminded the APC of its own conduct while in opposition, including the infamous “baboon and blood” narrative and open promises to make the country ungovernable.
“They therefore lack any moral capacity to complain about a mere historical recollection by a sitting governor,” Ememobong added.
The faction warned that as long as what it called “targeted state-sponsored decimation of the opposition” continues, opposition parties will explore increasingly potent strategies within the law to prevent a one-party state under an “elected dictator.”
It concluded by placing the responsibility for any violence before or after the 2027 elections squarely at the doorstep of the Federal Government, the APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and all national institutions charged with defending democracy.
“The citizens know the aggressors from the victims, and the APC’s attempt to play victim has failed woefully,” the statement added.
The Turaki faction, loyal to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar (who is often addressed as Turaki Adamawa), has consistently positioned itself as the main opposition within the opposition. The APC is yet to respond to the latest statement as of press time.
Discussion about this post