Tinubu Appointed Wike Minister To Destroy PDP
Tinubu Appointed Wike Minister To Destroy PDP
……Says Ogidi
South-South caretaker chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Emma Ogidi, has accused President Bola Tinubu of appointing the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, with an assignment to destroy the party.
He accused Wike of being the major force behind the crisis tearing the party apart.
Ogidi made the allegation on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, saying the behaviour and actions of Wike and Samuel Anyanwu’s faction of the PDP were “overboard” and unlike anything he had ever seen since joining the PDP.
“No, no, this type of behavior, no, no, I’ve never seen that kind of behavior. It’s gone overboard. What they’re doing is overboard. Wike, Samuel Anyanwu and the rest. It’s overboard,” he said.
He insisted that although PDP had experienced internal disagreements in the past, the current situation was on a different level entirely.
According to him, Wike and others who were recently expelled by the party stand expelled until a court rules otherwise stating that those challenging the party’s decisions lack “clean hands” and must be ready to defend their actions in court.
He accused them of disobeying court orders and acting “unruly,” especially after allegedly forming a caretaker committee despite a judge’s directive to maintain the status quo.
“They have always been unruly. You’ve been expelled, you’ve been expelled. You should move on,” he said.
Recall that on 15th November, the PDP expelled FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, suspended national secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, and former Ekiti governor Ayo Fayose, along with ten others, during its national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The motion for their expulsion was moved by former PDP national vice-chairman Olabode George and seconded by Bauchi PDP chairman Samaila Buga, with PDP Governors’ Forum chairman Bala Mohammed putting it to a voice vote.
The Wike-led faction had tried to stop the convention through the courts, but a high court ruling in Oyo allowed it to proceed. Leaders of the Wike faction, including Mao Ohabunwa and Mohammed Abdulrahman, dismissed the convention as illegal, calling it a “jamboree,” and urged members to stay away while pledging to continue strengthening a united PDP.
Wike, however, praised party members for defending the PDP in their areas and promised continued support, insisting his faction would uphold the rule of law.
Speaking on Monday, Ogidi also suggested that President Tinubu’s administration, through Wike’s position as FCT minister, was taking advantage of the internal tension to weaken the opposition.
He claimed the president was aware of the actions within the party and that Wike’s appointment came with an “assignment.”
“This APC government, this president we have, he’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that there’s only one party in this country. He’s the one behind it,” Ogidi said when asked if President Tinubu had a hand in the PDP crisis.
“Because his minister is working for him to destroy the party. But he cannot,” he added.
Ogidi, however, insisted that PDP is “indestructible” despite the turmoil and the exit of high-profile members saying “the big men can go.”
He dismissed claims that the party has lost credibility, arguing that the real strength of the PDP lies with grassroots voters, not political heavyweights.
On whether the PDP had the right to expel members like Wike, he said, “If you belong to any group, there are rules guiding the group. And once you have been cautioned, the first and second time, you are bound to be expelled.
You cannot say I cannot be expelled when I’m leaving now. How can you say that? Even when it’s your family. There’s a way you treat members of your family.”
On claims made by Wike that some of them built the PDP, therefore cannot be chased out, he said the PDP is nobody’s party.
“I agree it’s a big house. People have made contributions. Even more than people.
Others can also come and inherit it. It’s nobody’s party. It’s the people’s democratic party.
Let nobody claim that he has more at stake than the other. There’s a guiding rule. And we all must follow the rule for the party to survive.
Not like Nigeria. Nobody can claim that they own Nigeria. President Tinubu cannot claim to say that he owns Nigeria. No. Nigeria is all of us. He’s just the president.“ Ogidi explained.
Despite the challenges, he expressed confidence that the PDP still has a future noting that the PDP is the face of Democracy and the face of opposition in the country.
