PDP: Wike, Makinde factions in fight-to-finish

•Open secretariat, bank account, I’ll seal it, Wike dares Turaki

•Wike can’t derail our primaries, convention — Turaki

By Omeiza Ajayi & Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA  The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, escalated, yesterday as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the faction aligned with Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, traded fierce words over control of the party ahead of 2027.

Wike threw an open challenge to the Kabiru Turaki-led camp, daring it to prove its claim to leadership by opening a party secretariat and bank account in Abuja, and vowing to shut any such move.

Speaking during a media chat, the former Rivers governor accused the rival bloc of fraud, defiance of court rulings and deliberate deception.

“When will people stop being fraudulent? You cannot disobey court judgments and then turn around to deceive Nigerians that you have a legitimate structure. That is not how democracy works,” he said.

He insisted the group lacked legal standing to run PDP affairs and challenged it to demonstrate otherwise.

“If they are sure they are the authentic leadership of the PDP, let them open an official PDP account and tell party members to pay nomination fees into it,” Wike said.

Directing his dare at Turaki, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, he added: “Let Turaki… open an account for the PDP. Let them announce it publicly… That day, you will see what will happen. He will lose his silk.”

According to Wike, no bank would honour such a request without the party’s authentic documents and recognised leadership.

“That bank will be in trouble because to open such an account, you must provide the party’s authentic documents… Who has those documents?” he queried.

On the possibility of a parallel secretariat, the minister was emphatic:

“You don’t form a leadership in your bedroom and call it a national structure. Let them open an office anywhere and call it PDP secretariat — I dare them.

“If anybody goes ahead to open an illegal office… I will seal it. I will not allow any breach of peace because my duty is to maintain law and order in the Federal Capital Territory.”

Wike dismissed moves by the faction to set up what he described as an illegal caretaker structure, branding it “fraud, 419.”

“The court has made it clear who should run the affairs of the party… You cannot ignore that and start setting up another structure,” he said.

He also rejected interpretations of a Supreme Court ruling cited by the rival camp, accusing them of twisting judicial pronouncements to mislead party members.

On the Board of Trustees controversy, Wike faulted moves by the Adolphus Wabara-led BoT to name an interim committee, describing it as part of “the same illegality.”

He further took a swipe at Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, accusing him of reneging on agreements reached at a peace meeting brokered by President Bola Tinubu.

“Nobody can stop you from running for an election. It’s your choice but you have just exposed yourself,” he said.

Wike also defended his crackdown on undeveloped land around Jabi Lake, insisting it was in line with the Abuja master plan.

“For 15 years, nothing happened. We cannot continue like that. If you are not ready to develop, we will take back the land,” he said, adding: “You must sign to develop within a given period. If you fail, the land returns to government.”

Makinde bloc fires back

But the PDP interim leadership aligned with Makinde dismissed Wike’s threats, insisting its primaries and national convention would proceed as planned.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the group said Wike’s outburst did not deserve a response, describing it instead as an embarrassment.

“Nigerians today witnessed what can only be described as an unsolicited display of political rascality, moral emptiness, crass opportunism, and post-defeat trauma,” he said.

“The Minister cast aside restraint and maligned several distinguished Nigerians with what can best be described as ‘sound and fury, signifying nothing’.”

The faction said it was addressing Nigerians not to engage Wike, but to apologise for his past elevation.

“This statement is… not a reply to his tirade… but an apology to Nigerians for having… enabled a public figure whose conduct… has become a national embarrassment,” Ememobong said.

It urged those allegedly defamed to seek legal redress, stressing that no individual is above the law.

The group also dismissed any suggestion that Wike could assume overarching control of the party.

“He will neither become, nor can he become, the National Leader of the party, an office that does not exist in our constitution,” the statement said.

On the ongoing process, it maintained that the sale of nomination forms had begun and would not be halted.

“The process is underway and will not be derailed,” Ememobong said, rejecting Wike’s claim that banks would be pressured against dealing with the faction.

“The party continues to operate its accounts,” he added.

On the legal dispute, the group said it was awaiting Certified True Copies of court judgments and challenged Wike to clarify his claims.

“Nigerians can be assured that no amount of threats will suppress the truth. While falsehood may travel faster, it does not diminish the force… of the truth,” he said.

The post PDP: Wike, Makinde factions in fight-to-finish appeared first on Vanguard News.