The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has labelled the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, as the “architect” of the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In his statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday, Mr Wike highlighted specific allegations against Mr Makinde, which he said contributed to sustaining the crisis in the largest opposition party.
|
|
The minister, for instance, accused Mr Makinde, his former ally, of conniving with other party leaders to sabotage agreements reached to resolve the PDP crisis.
He noted that since the 2023 general election, the PDP had been battling crises, which he claimed were caused by a lack of trust and honesty among party leaders.
|
|
|
|---|
Mr Wike, who led the G5 governors, said to tackle the crisis, he and other members of the group held a meeting in Lagos State.
Mr Makinde was a member of the G5, a group of PDP governors aggrieved with the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the then party’s National Chairperson, Iyorchia Ayu.
“In that meeting, I made it clear to the Governor of Oyo State, HE. Seyi Makinde said that he (Makinde) was the architect of our (PDP) problems, pointing out to him that non-adherence to the 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 said a follow-up meeting was subsequently held at Saraki’s Guest House in Abuja, where top PDP leaders, including the party’s Acting National Chairperson, Bala Mohammed, were present.
He said although tensions rose when he accused Mr Mohammed of reneging on previous agreements, the party leadership later resolved on a number of issues.
Mr Wike said the resolutions included that Samuel Anyanwu should remain the national secretary of the PDP in tandem with Supreme Court judgment and all litigations relating to Rivers State must be withdrawn by the national legal adviser.
He said that at another meeting held in Bauchi State, PDP leadership set up a committee headed by Mr Saraki to resolve all other lingering and pending issues in the party.
“It is disheartening to note that even before the Bukola Saraki Reconciliation Committee began its work, the gentleman’s agreement we reached at Saraki’s Guest House was already being crudely violated.
“To my chagrin, Seyi Makinde had connived with Peter Mbah of Enugu State to orchestrate the summoning of the meeting of so-called South-east leaders to recommend that if (Sunday) Ude-Okoye was not adopted as (national) secretary, they would pull out of the PDP. I have since granted an interview to the effect that that resolution of the South-east leaders can not hold,” the minister 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.”
Mr Wike lamented that Messrs Makinde and Mohammed allegedly portrayed as rejected the letter confirming the candidacy of the PDP governorship candidate in the forthcoming elections in Anambra State, despite being “duly” signed by Mr Anyanwu.
“All these actions are in complete violation of the agreements reached and would not do the party any good whatsoever,” he stated.
The minister further said a “properly attended zonal elective congress” of the PDP was aborted because the letter inviting INEC to the congress was signed by the party’s deputy national secretary instead of Mr Anyanwu.
“INEC refused to attend because the proper signatory recognised by law, that is Senator Samuel Anyanwu, was not a signatory to the invitation notice. This is undeniably distasteful, provocative and annoying, to say the least,” he said.
Mr Wike is officially a member of the PDP, although he serves in the APC administration of President Bola Tinubu.
He has been accused of deliberately sabotaging the PDP to the benefit of the Tinubu administration but has always maintained that he is a loyal member and benefactor of the PDP.
‘I’ve pulled out of all agreements; I’ll fight on’
In the Sunday statement, Mr Wike said he has “decided to fight on” within the opposition party “until justice is attained.”
“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,” he said.
The former Rivers State governor boasted that none of the PDP leaders allegedly stoking the crisis had performed better than him sustaining the party.
“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,” he said.
Background
There has been an intense contest about who the authentic national secretary of the PD,is between Messrs Anyanwu and Udeh-Okoye.
The contest, which is tearing the party apart, has reached various court,s including Nigeria’s Supreme Court.
Mr Anyanwu, the substantive occupant of the position, had stepped aside to contest in the 11 November 2023 Imo State governorship election on the PDP platform but lost to the incumbent governor, Hope Uzodinma of the APC.
He did not, however, submit a letter of resignation for the national secretary position of the party.
Meanwhile, in October 2023, some weeks before the Imo elefvction, the leadership of the PDP in the South-east nominated Mr Ude-Okoye to replace Mr Anyanwu as the party’s national secretary.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that the position of the national secretary was zoned to the South-east by the PDP in 2021 ahead of the party’s national convention on 30 October of that year.
In the heat of the debate, a High Court in Enugu State, in October 2023, ordered the PDP to replace Mr Anyanwu as the party’s national secretary with Mr Ude-Okoye.The former PDP national youth leader filed the suitr.
The PDP’s NWC had countered the order in a motion filed on 24 October 2023.
In the motion, the NWC asked the court to set aside the order, arguing that “it was obtained by fraud and suppression of material facts” and also faulted the order for not being specificabouto what position Mr Udeh-Okoye should fill.
In another twist, earlier in January 2024, a Federal High Court in Abuja declared Mr Anyanwu as the valid national secretary of the PDP.
The judge, Inyang Ekwo, also restrained the national leadership of the PDP from appointing any person as its acting national secretary until the expiration of Mr Anyanwu’s four-year tenure on 9 December 2025, as enshrined in the party’s constitution.
In December, the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, upheld the High Court’s ruling that Mr Ude-Okoye be recognised as the national secretary of the PDP against Mr Anyanwu.
In the lead judgement by Ridwan Abdullahi, the appellate court said Mr Anyanwu’s claim to the position after he contested and emerged as the PDP governorship election in Imo State violated the party’s constitution, and his appeal had no merit.
Despite the judgement, Mr Anyanwu refused to vacate office and appealed the ruling at the Supreme Court.
Mr Ude-Okoye, on his part, assumed duty on 30 December on the strength of the judgement.
However, the Court of Appeal in Abuja, in January 2025, ordered both parties to maintainthe status quo until the Supreme Court resolves the appeal.
Messrs Udeh-Okoye and Anyanwu interpreted the court order differently.
Mr Ude-Okoye believes that the status quo means that he should continue to function as the PDP national secretary as pronounced by the court of appeal.
Mr Anyanwu, on his part, argued that the court’s status quo order amounted to a stay of execution of the court of appeal judgment affirming Mr Ude-Okoye as national secretary.
However, the Supreme Court, on 21 March 2025, nullified the judgements of the lower court,s which sacked Mr Anyanwu as the PDP national secretary.
While Mr Anyanwu celebrated the court overturning of his sack, the PDP leadership in the South-east expressed happiness that the court held that both courts had no jurisdiction to hear the case in the first instance.
The South-east PDP celebrated the ruling of the court that matters relating to the leadership or membership of a political party fall strictly within the party’s internal affairs and should not be the business of any court.
On 14 May, the South-east Zonal Executive Committee of the PDP renominated Mr Udeh-Okoye as the party’s national secretary.
At a meeting in Enugu, thee PDP leaders in the zon also threatened to dump the party if its National Working Committee (NWC) refuses to ratify Mr Ude-Okoye as the national secretary.
Last Tuesday, the South-east PDP leaders presented their resolution to renominate Mr Udeh-Okoye as national secretary to the party’s NWC.
Read the full statement by Wike below:
PDP CRISIS: MY POSITION
1. Since after the 2023 General election, the PDP has been wantonly swinging from one part of a slippery precipice to another, owing fundamentally to dishonesty and lack of trust amongst its key stakeholders. To stem this ugly trend, efforts have been made to arrest this pernicious virus of dishonesty and treachery and enthrone fidelity to agreements with a view to stabilizing the party and moving it forward.
2. 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.
3. As a follow-up to the aforementioned meeting, there was an expanded meeting in Abuja involving HE. Seyi Makinde, HE. Umaru Fintri, HE. Bala Mohammed, HE, Bukola Saraki, and I in Saraki’s guest house. In that meeting, I made it clear that I had no personal problems with HE. Bala Mohammed, except that he hides under the facade of Chairman of PDP Governors Forum to serially renege on agreements. Tensions rose mightily in the meeting and it took all concerned to calm frayed nerves. 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.
d. Nobody should deviate from the agreements so reached.
In the light of the foregoing, they pleaded with me to attend the stakeholders’ meeting at the Bauchi Government Lodge, regardless of my many engagements. I attended the meeting and clearly reiterated my earlier concerns, and to this end and in order to resolve all other lingering and pending issues, a committee was formed, headed by HE. Bukola Saraki.
4. It is disheartening to note that even before the Bukola Saraki Reconciliation Committee began its work, the gentleman’s agreement we reached at Saraki’s Guest House was already being crudely violated. To my chagrin, Seyi Makinde had connived with Peter Mba of Enugu State to orchestrate the summoning of the meeting of so-called South-East leaders to recommend that if Ude Okoye was not adopted as Secretary, they would pull out of the PDP. I have since granted an interview to the effect that, that resolution of the South-East leaders can not hold.
Again, Seyi Makinde organized 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 Mba. All these actions are in complete violation of the agreements reached and would not do the party any good whatsoever. On the 24th of May 2025, in Jos, for instance, a well publicized and properly attended zonal elective congress of the PDP was aborted because the letter inviting INEC to the congress was signed by the Deputy National Secretary of the party. INEC refused to attend because the proper signatory recognized by law, that is Senator Samuel Anyanwu was not a signatory to the invitation notice. This is undeniably distasteful, provocative and annoying, to say the least.
5. I have painstakingly put out all these facts so that PDP members and the general public would know the truth. I have been in this party since 1998 and have worked tirelessly for the survival of this party with all my strength and it is on record that none of these persons have done anything close to what I have done to sustain this party. 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.
6. 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.
