The lingering internal crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took a dramatic turn on Saturday as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, declared his withdrawal from all agreements previously reached by party stakeholders, citing serial breaches and betrayal by key members.
In a strongly-worded statement titled “PDP Crisis: My Position”, Wike accused Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, of being the “architect of the party’s problems,” alleging that dishonesty and lack of fidelity to agreements have continued to derail the party since the conclusion of the 2023 general elections.
According to Wike, efforts to salvage the party, including a series of high-level reconciliatory meetings with members of the G5 and other prominent stakeholders, have yielded little progress due to persistent violations of resolutions. He recounted a meeting held in Lagos with Governor Makinde where concerns were raised about unmet agreements, and another in Abuja at the residence of former Senate President Bukola Saraki involving governors and PDP leaders.
“In that meeting,” Wike stated, “we came to some resolutions, including that Senator Samuel Anyanwu remains the National Secretary of the PDP, all legal matters relating to Rivers State be withdrawn, and no deviation from the agreements would be tolerated.”
However, Wike lamented that even before the Saraki-led Reconciliation Committee could commence its work, the agreements were being “crudely violated.” He accused Makinde and Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah of orchestrating moves to replace Senator Anyanwu, including convening meetings of South-East leaders with threats of pulling out of the party unless their preferred candidate, Ude Okoye, was adopted as Secretary.
Wike also criticized actions taken at the party’s national secretariat, claiming they undermined established agreements and the Supreme Court judgment. He cited the recent collapse of a zonal congress in Jos as a direct consequence of these violations, following INEC’s refusal to attend due to procedural irregularities in the invitation process.
“This is undeniably distasteful, provocative and annoying, to say the least,” the former Rivers State Governor said.
Expressing deep disappointment, Wike reminded party faithful and the general public of his longstanding loyalty and contributions to the PDP since 1998. He stated that despite helping many current governors secure their positions, he has never made personal demands of them.
“I had thought that we could keep the trust amongst us,” Wike said, “but since it is now obvious that they would continue to play games to the detriment of the party… I have now firmly decided to pull out of all agreements hitherto reached. I have decided to fight on until justice is attained.”
