Amid the ongoing turmoil within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has accused Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde of betrayal, alleging that the governor has been inciting party members against him.
In a statement released on Sunday, Wike attributed the party’s prolonged crisis to dishonesty and a lack of trust among key stakeholders, stressing that repeated efforts to resolve the issues and uphold agreements crucial to the party’s progress have been undermined.
“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,” Mr Wike said.
The minister referred to an extended meeting with the party’s key stakeholders, during which he accused Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State of repeatedly violating agreements.
“At the end of the meeting, we came to some resolutions, including (a) That Senator Samuel Anyanwu remains the national secretary of the PDP in tandem with the Supreme Court judgement; (b) All legal matters relating to Rivers State must be withdrawn by the national legal adviser; (c) The suit on the state of emergency be withdrawn forthwith; and (d) Nobody should deviate from the agreements so reached,” he said.
Mr. Wike stated that he was persuaded to attend the stakeholders’ meeting held at the Bauchi Government Lodge, which ultimately resulted in the creation of a reconciliation committee chaired by former Senate President Bukola Saraki.
He went on to accuse Mr. Makinde of breaching prior agreements made before the committee’s formation. According to the minister, Mr. Makinde, in collaboration with Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah, allegedly orchestrated a meeting of South-East leaders with the intent to push for Ude Okoye’s appointment as secretary—threatening to withdraw from the PDP if their demand was not met.
The former Rivers governor said, “Again, Seyi Makinde organised some people in the national secretariat to insist that the deputy national secretary should act as national secretary, in violation of the agreement earlier reached. To attempt to give credence to this farce, a letter was written by the deputy national secretary, calling for a meeting of the NEC of the party.
“Furthermore, the letter confirming the candidacy of the governorship candidate of the party in the forthcoming governorship elections in Anambra State, duly signed by the national secretary, Senator Anyanwu and the acting national chairman, was portrayed as rejected by the party through a rebuttal letter signed by the national publicity secretary, acting on the orders of Seyi Makinde and Peter Mbah.”
Mr. Wike stated that the widely publicised and well-planned zonal elective congress of the PDP, scheduled for May 24, 2025, was abruptly cancelled because the letter inviting INEC was signed by the party’s deputy national secretary instead of the legally recognised official.
He explained that INEC declined to attend the congress since the notice of invitation did not bear the signature of Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the authorised signatory under the law.
Calling the situation both provocative and infuriating, the minister said the actions represented a clear breach of previously agreed terms.
In response, Mr. Wike announced his withdrawal from all prior agreements and vowed to continue the fight until justice is achieved.
Stating that he had made efforts for the party’s survival, Mr Wike lamented, “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.”
“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,” the minister added.
