Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has urged the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to resolve its internal conflicts ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning that failure to do so could cost the party a return to power.
Gatekeepers News reports that speaking on Monday at his office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Wike emphasized that the party’s chances of electoral success hinge on decisive and focused leadership.
“We have a leadership that is not focused, we have a leadership that does not know what to do or take any suggestions. If the leadership is committed and comes back to say we have made a mistake, why is it that things are happening this way, and what do we do to make corrections?
“It is not just to take over the government; you have to position yourself. If the leadership is like that, you say look, by 2027, it is likely that we may not make it, but are we going to allow the party to die? Can’t we start to build up and make the right decisions for 2027? It is all dependent on the leadership — that is what I will say,” Wike stated.
The PDP has faced persistent internal crises since the 2023 elections, resulting in defections of several members, including serving governors, to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Criticism of PDP National Convention and Makinde
Wike also criticised the November 15 PDP National Convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, accusing Governor Seyi Makinde of attempting to consolidate control over the party and obtaining an ex parte court order to facilitate the exercise.
The former Rivers State governor and Makinde, once close allies, have recently been at odds. On December 23, Makinde alleged that Wike sought to weaken the PDP to support President Bola Tinubu’s second-term ambitions.
Speaking at a media briefing in Ibadan, Makinde recalled that President Tinubu had once asked him to assist in organising the APC in Oyo State — a request he refused.
“The President said, ‘No Seyi, it is you that I want to help me organise APC in Oyo,’ and I said, ‘No sir, I am of the PDP; I can never help you organise the APC in Oyo State.’ If we had a government of national unity, a government of national competence, we would have been in a very different environment right now,” Makinde said.
The Oyo governor further claimed that during a meeting with President Tinubu, Wike, the president’s chief of staff, and other officials, the FCT minister allegedly offered to “hold the PDP” for the president ahead of the 2027 elections — a remark that reportedly shocked Makinde and raised concerns about moves to undermine opposition in Nigeria.
