Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has blamed the Peoples Democratic Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and Senator Aminu Tambuwal for putting the party in ruins.
“Atiku destroyed the PDP, Tambuwal destroyed the PDP, and Ayu destroyed it. Politics is not fair; life itself is not balanced,” he said on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s PoliticsToday.
Fayose insisted that, despite his loyalty to the PDP, he was honest about his decision to support Bola Tinubu for president in 2023.
”Everybody stands where they will be able to say the truth to Nigerians. I am not contesting elections, and I have not asked anybody for favours.”
“Openly, I supported Asiwaju Tinubu in 2023, and I didn’t hide it. Til now, I am still there. I didn’t jump. I have said it to you, I am not a member of the APC, and I will never be,” Fayose said.
The former Ekiti governor also said he never saw a rift ensuing between Wike and Fubara and warned the Rivers governor to tread carefully.
“Let me quickly say this. I never knew this thing would ever happen between Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
“I was sitting on the high table the day Governor Fubara was sworn in, and we were on the high table in Rivers. And I told Wike that I want to say one or two things to Fubara not to betray you,” he added.
The PDP has been embroiled in internal crises that have tested its unity and reshaped its political dynamics.
At the centre of the tension were former Vice President Atiku, National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu, and Tambuwal.
The seeds of the crises were sown during the May 2022 PDP presidential primaries.
Atiku faced competition from Tambuwal, Nyesom Wike, and other aspirants at the primary.
But Tambuwal eventually withdrew and endorsed Atiku, a move that secured the former vice president’s nomination.
However, Wike, supported by several governors, demanded Ayu’s resignation, accusing him of undermining party unity.
The “G5” bloc of governors argued that leadership roles and party decisions were skewed, threatening southern representation and fairness within the PDP.
Ayu and Atiku, meanwhile, defended the chairman’s position, stressing that removing him outside constitutional procedures would set a dangerous precedent and destabilise the party further.
The subsequent refusal of Ayu to resign as National Chairman, a condition previously agreed upon if a Northerner won the ticket, created a legitimacy deficit that haunted the party through the 2023 elections and into the current 2026 deadlock.
