Wike urges PDP to resolve internal disputes urgently, warning prolonged instability could threaten the party’s 2027 election prospects
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has called on the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party to urgently resolve internal disputes to safeguard the party’s prospects ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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Wike made the appeal on Monday at his office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, stressing that prolonged instability could undermine the PDP’s chances of winning key political offices.
“We have a leadership that is not focused, we have a leadership that does not know what to do or take any suggestions. If the leadership is committed and comes back to say we have made a mistake, why is it that things are happening this way, and what do we do to make corrections?” Wike said. “It is not just to take over the government; you have to position yourself. If the leadership is like that, you say look by 2027, it is likely that we may not make it, but are we going to allow the party to die?”
Wike warned that the party’s unresolved crises since the 2023 general elections have already caused the defection of several members, including sitting governors, to the All Progressives Congress.
He also criticised the PDP National Convention held on November 15 in Ibadan, Oyo State, alleging that Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde sought absolute control of the party and secured an ex parte court order to allow the convention to proceed.
Tensions between Wike and Makinde, once close political allies, have escalated recently. On December 23, Makinde accused Wike of attempting to weaken the PDP in favour of President Bola Tinubu’s second-term ambitions.
The Oyo governor claimed that during a meeting with President Tinubu and other officials, Wike offered to manage the PDP ahead of the 2027 elections, a move Makinde said alarmed him and raised fears of a shift towards a one-party system.
Makinde emphasised his loyalty to the PDP, recalling that he declined President Tinubu’s request to assist in organising the APC in Oyo State.
“I am of the PDP; I can never help you organise the APC in Oyo State. If we had a government of national unity, a government of national competence, we would have been in a very different environment right now,” he said.
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Wike’s call to action highlights growing concerns over leadership challenges within the PDP and the urgent need to stabilise the party ahead of the upcoming electoral cycle.
