Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has accused the Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of deceiving aspirants by collecting money from them despite lacking recognition from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Speaking during his monthly media chat in Abuja on Thursday, July 9, Wike insisted that the Turaki group cannot field candidates because INEC has already granted the recognised PDP leadership the access code required to upload candidates for elections.
According to Wike, the Turaki faction is giving false hope to aspirants while collecting nomination fees from them.
“When this thing started and I told the press that this thing that Turaki is doing, he has collected money from people, but it will backfire.
“Why will it backfire, now, INEC has given access codes to political parties as recognized. Have they given him an access code? So which candidates will he sell forms to? They have given us an access code, and we are uploading our candidates but you are not uploading your own candidates,” Wike said.
The former Rivers State governor alleged that the Turaki faction would continue to encourage aspirants with promises of legal action until elections are concluded.
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“They will tell the people, listen, there is still hope and you must be the candidate because we will take legal action and until the election finishes that hope will still be there.
“When elections have not been conducted, they will continue to give them that kind of hope,” Wike said.
He also dismissed claims that the PDP remains divided into rival factions, arguing that disagreement within a political party does not automatically create a parallel leadership.
“So the issue of faction, it’s you people that is making them believe that there is still faction, the mere faction that somebody disagrees with me does not constitute a faction, no.
“Which Secretariat do they have as a party? They don’t attend INEC meetings and yet you still call them a faction.
“Tomorrow they will and say this government is this and that, they are not a faction, those who are recognized to speak are the authorized leadership of the party,” Wike said.