Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has insisted he remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) despite his purported expulsion by the faction led by National Chairman, Kabiru Turaki.
Turaki’s group had on Thursday, December 4, announced the expulsion of 11 prominent party figures, including Wike, former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, Umaru Bature, Kamarudeen Ajibade (SAN), Abdurahman Muhammad, and Senator Mao Ohuabunwa.
He said the expulsions were part of efforts “to sanitise the party ahead of 2027 elections.”
Reacting on Friday, December 5, Wike dismissed the announcement, saying the faction had no authority to expel him and that he remained committed to the PDP and its role as a viable opposition party.
The minister spoke to reporters in Abuja after inspecting the ongoing construction of the interchange bridge and linking roads between Gwarinpa, Jahi, Katampe, Gishiri, and Maitama.
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“Those that are factionalised are bound to leave the party. I’m still in PDP, and you can see that not everybody has left,” Wike said.
“We still have good numbers and we will continue to work together, and that’s what I have said to the party. Put your house in order because, at the end of the day, if you don’t put your house in order, it’s the party that is losing.”
“So those who are worried, we can work together to see how the party can remain a relevant opposition,” he added.
Wike’s statement comes amid deepening divisions within the PDP as rival factions local to Turaki, acting chairman Mohammed Abdurahman, and suspended National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu battle for control of the party’s structure.
The development marks the latest escalation in the PDP’s internal crisis, which has continued to fracture the opposition since Nigeria’s 2023 general elections.