The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has denied assuring President Bola Tinubu to undermine the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to his advantage of his reelection ambition ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Mr Wike’s rebuttal is a fresh twist to his deepening rift with Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who recently made the allegation.
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Mr Wike dismissed the allegation as false and politically motivated, insisting that at no point did he pledge to sabotage the opposition party or act as a covert ally of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The denial follows Governor Seyi Makinde’s recent assertion that Mr Wike openly told the president he would “hold down” the PDP, a claim that has intensified internal party tensions and renewed scrutiny of the minister’s role in the opposition’s prolonged crisis.
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“I was in a meeting with the President and Wike, ….and Wike said to the president that, ‘I will hold PDP for you against 2027.’ I was in shock. So, we got to the veranda and I asked him, did we agree to this?
“The real issue is that Wike would like to support the President for 2027. That’s fine. It is within his right to do that. But also, some of us that want to ensure that democracy survives in Nigeria, that we don’t drift into a one-party state and want to ensure that PDP survives should be allowed to do our own thing,” Governor Makinde said in a media brief in Ibadan.
‘No such meeting, no such promise’ — Wike
Speaking during a media interaction with journalists on Monday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Mr Wike said the claim attributed to him was a deliberate misrepresentation of events and challenged its promoters to explain why it only emerged long after the alleged encounter.
“That is a blatant lie. There is no such meeting. At no time did I say to Mr President that I will hold PDP for you. It is completely out of place for anybody to say that. Why did he not come out all this while to tell the party, ‘see what Wike is doing’?” he said.
He explained that a post-election visit to President Tinubu, which has been cited by his critics, was not a political bargain and involved no discussion about weakening the PDP or striking any alliance against the party.
According to Mr Wike, frustration among some party leaders had driven the attempt to rewrite the narrative around his relationship with the federal government.
“Frustration can make you do a lot of things and cause damage. Politics is not like being a contractor with the government. There are things you can do and think people don’t know. People do; they watch you. How did we get into this crisis? It is ambition.
“We all agreed for the party to move on. Why not allow this to go on? You destroy your party and now you are accusing the other party of wanting to create a one-party state. It doesn’t make sense,” he added.
PDP’s troubles self-inflicted, minister argues
Beyond the immediate dispute, Mr Wike said the PDP’s current predicament stems from leadership failures, internal power struggles and repeated disregard for due process.
He argued that the wave of defections, legal battles and factional disputes within the party were predictable outcomes of poor decision-making by its leadership.
The Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, on 1 December announced his resignation from the PDP due to the party’s internal crisis.
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Governor Adeleke later joined Accord and emerged the party’s candidate for the 2026 governorship election.
“This is what happens when leadership is selfish and unwilling to listen. You cannot run a political party without respect for structure and process.
“As it is today, the appropriate authority that can talk about PDP is the caretaker committee. INEC has no choice but to recognise the caretaker committee,” he said.
Mr Wike rejected accusations that his actions were aimed at promoting a one-party state, saying the party’s internal implosion, rather than any external interference, had weakened its standing.
He maintained that recent interim arrangements put in place to manage the party’s affairs followed legal guidance and court decisions, insisting that stability could only return if party leaders were willing to reflect, rebuild and prioritise collective interest over personal ambition.
The PDP is facing serious internal divisions that threaten its chances in the 2027 elections. The feud has contributed to defections from the party, with key members leaving for rivals, further weakening PDP’s position.
