The rift between members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), continues unabated. Dele Momodu, the Director of Strategic Communications for the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Council, expressed his desire to expel Wike from the PDP if he had the authority. He accused Wike of attempting to harm the party, stating, “I don’t have the power, if I had power I would have fired him (Wike) long ago.”
Momodu clarified that he didn’t oppose Wike’s ministerial appointment by President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC). When questioned about why he would expel the former Rivers State governor from the party, Momodu asserted, “Such an unruly person who wants to destroy our party? One individual cannot hold everybody to ransom. If we fought the military, we fought the military in this country, Tinubu was part of those who fought the military in this country, and then you will now allow a civilian dictatorship?”
This feud originated when Wike and four other former governors, collectively known as the G-5 in the PDP, withdrew their support for the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, during the 2023 Presidential Election due to disagreements over power sharing within the PDP.
Wike, who supported the eventual winner, Tinubu, was subsequently rewarded with the appointment as FCT Minister. Some PDP members, like Momodu, have been demanding Wike’s expulsion from the party. However, during a recent appearance on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Wike challenged the party leadership to suspend or discipline him, asserting, “Who will discipline me? I should be the one calling for the discipline of these people who violated the party’s constitution, in the way that the party supported rotation. Who will suspend me? I want to dare anybody.”
He claimed that he had informed the PDP leadership before accepting President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial offer from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Despite working for the APC government, Wike maintained his status as a PDP chieftain, stating, “I want to support Asiwaju (Tinubu) to finish well.” He also insisted that he owed no one an apology for supporting power shift to southern Nigeria.
The battle between PDP members and Wike continues, with the latter enjoying the favor of Nigeria’s top leader, making PDP members cautious about their next moves.
