Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has declared his withdrawal from all reconciliation agreements previously reached within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), blaming Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde for the worsening crisis in the party.
In a strongly worded statement released on Sunday, Wike described Makinde as “the architect of our problems” and accused him of breaching gentleman’s agreements reached during recent peace efforts among PDP leaders.
The former Rivers State Governor said that since the 2023 general elections, the PDP has been “swinging from one part of a slippery precipice to another,” due to dishonesty and lack of trust among stakeholders.
Wike recounted a series of meetings aimed at resolving the internal crisis, including a gathering of the G5 Governors in Lagos where he first confronted Makinde.
The statement read, “To this end, a meeting of the G5 was held in Lagos. In that meeting, I made it clear to the Governor of Oyo State, HE. Seyi Makinde, that he was the architect of our problems, pointing out to him that non-adherence to agreements reached was the bane of the party, and that he was the chief culprit of this anomaly. At the end of the meeting, we resolved to bury the hatchet and make progress.”
An expanded meeting followed in Abuja at the residence of former Senate President Bukola Saraki, attended by Governors Makinde, Bala Mohammed, Umaru Fintiri, and Saraki himself. Wike reiterated his concern about Bala Mohammed’s role, accusing him of hiding behind his position as Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum to renege on deals.
Despite heated exchanges, the group reached new resolutions, including recognising Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the legitimate National Secretary of the party, withdrawing all pending legal matters related to Rivers State and the State of Emergency, and a commitment not to violate the agreements.
However, Wike claimed the agreements were violated almost immediately, saying, “It is disheartening to note that even before the Bukola Saraki Reconciliation Committee began its work, the gentleman’s agreement we reached at Saraki’s Guest House was already being crudely violated. To my chagrin, Seyi Makinde had connived with Peter Mba of Enugu State to orchestrate the summoning of the meeting of so-called South-East leaders to recommend that if Ude Okoye was not adopted as Secretary, they would pull out of the PDP. I have since granted an interview to the effect that, that resolution of the South-East leaders can not hold.”
He also alleged that Makinde influenced staff at the PDP national secretariat to push for the Deputy National Secretary to act in place of Anyanwu, undermining the Supreme Court judgement and the Abuja resolutions. Wike cited the aborted zonal congress in Jos on 24 May as proof of the confusion, saying INEC refused to attend because the invitation was not signed by the recognised National Secretary.
“These actions are in complete violation of the agreements reached and would not do the party any good whatsoever,” he said. “It is undeniably distasteful, provocative and annoying, to say the least.”
Wike, who has been a PDP member since 1998, stressed his long-standing contribution to the party, asserting that none of the current actors have done as much to sustain it. He noted that although he played a key role in the electoral victories of many governors, he never asked for personal favours in return.
“I have painstakingly put out all these facts so that PDP members and the general public would know the truth. I have been in this party since 1998 and have worked tirelessly for the survival of this party with all my strength and it is on record that none of these persons have done anything close to what I have done to sustain this party. What is more painful is that I contributed substantially to most of these governors winning their elections, yet I have not made any personal demands on any of them and I would never do so,” Wike said.
“Most importantly, I had thought that we could keep the trust amongst us, but since it is now obvious that they would continue to play games to the detriment of the party, as is the case in the current debacle in the North-Central zonal elections, I have now firmly decided to pull out of all agreements hitherto reached. I have decided to fight on until justice is attained.”
His withdrawal signals a further deepening of the PDP’s internal crisis and casts uncertainty over the party’s unity ahead of future elections.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
