The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday lashed out at factions within the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, allegedly led by Seyi Makinde, Mohammed Taminu Turaki, and others, over the party’s protracted leadership crisis, accusing them of deliberately disregarding court rulings and undermining democratic principles.
Speaking during a media chat in Abuja, Wike dismissed claims of an interim leadership arrangement within the party, describing such moves as illegal and deceptive.
He said, “When will people stop being fraudulent? You cannot disobey court judgments and then turn around to deceive Nigerians that you have a legitimate structure. That is not how democracy works.”
The former Rivers State governor maintained that only a leadership recognised by the courts could legitimately administer the affairs of the party, insisting that any parallel structure amounted to illegality.
“You don’t form a leadership in your bedroom and call it a national structure. Let them open an office anywhere and call it PDP secretariat — I dare them. That is how you know what is real and what is not,” he said.
Wike argued that ongoing efforts to establish what he described as an illegal caretaker arrangement were aimed at misleading party members and the public, stressing that the judiciary had already provided clarity on who should oversee the party pending a lawful convention.
“The court has made it clear who should run the affairs of the party pending a lawful convention. You cannot ignore that and start setting up another structure. That is fraud — 419,” he added.
The FCT minister also decried what he described as a decline in integrity among some political actors, including senior lawyers and party leaders, accusing them of undermining institutions for personal interests.
“People you expect to uphold the law are the ones trying to bend it. That is the tragedy of our system,” Wike said.
