The interim leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in alignment with Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, has insisted that the party’s ongoing primaries and national convention will go ahead as planned, dismissing efforts by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to derail the process.
The internal tension, which centres on the struggle for control of the opposition party ahead of the 2027 general elections, saw the Kabiru Turaki, SAN-led interim National Working Committee reaffirm its authority.
It maintained that the sale of nomination forms is already in progress and stressed that neither internal opposition nor external pressure, including from Wike, would halt the scheduled primaries and convention that will produce the party’s presidential candidate.
In a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the PDP said Wike’s earlier media remarks did not deserve a response, but nonetheless warranted an apology to Nigerians over his behaviour.
Ememobong stated, “Nigerians today witnessed what can only be described as an unsolicited display of political rascality, moral emptiness, crass opportunism, and post-defeat trauma by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The Minister cast aside restraint and maligned several distinguished Nigerians with what can best be described as ‘sound and fury, signifying nothing.’”
The statement added that while the party would ordinarily ignore such comments, it was compelled to respond in order to address Nigerians directly, describing its intervention as an apology for previously supporting Wike’s rise to public office.
“This statement is therefore not a reply to his tirade, which we consider his political swan song and the last kicks of a dying horse, but an apology to Nigerians for having, at any point, enabled a public figure whose conduct, utterances and reasoning have become a national embarrassment with international consequences.
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“We urge those defamed in his remarks to seek legal redress. No individual is, or should be, above the law,” the statement added.
The PDP also rejected claims suggesting that Wike holds any superior position within the party, stressing that no such office exists in its constitution.
It further stated that the minister’s frustration stemmed from the commencement of nomination form sales and the party’s steady progress toward its primaries and national convention, through which, it said, a credible presidential candidate would emerge.
“The process is underway and will not be derailed. His claim that he will frustrate any bank that provides services to the party is unfounded, as the party continues to operate its accounts,” Ememobong said.
On legal matters raised by Wike, the PDP said it was awaiting certified true copies of the relevant court rulings, while challenging him to clearly explain his assertions.
“While awaiting the release of the Certified True Copies of the dismissed cross-appeals, we would be glad to have the Minister tell the world what the reliefs in the cross-appeals filed by his friends were, and what the judgment of the court was.
Nigerians can be assured that no amount of threats will suppress the truth. While falsehood may travel faster, it does not diminish the force or eventual triumph of the truth,” Ememobong said.