THE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has pulled out of all reconciliation agreements previously reached within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a statement issued on Sunday, Wike accused key party leaders of betrayal, dishonesty, and repeated violations of mutual understandings.
He attributed the roots of the PDP’s internal turmoil to the aftermath of the 2023 general elections, lamenting what he described as a steady decline into “dishonesty and lack of trust amongst its key stakeholders.”
“Since after the 2023 general election, the PDP has been wantonly swinging from one part of a slippery precipice to another,” Wike said, noting that several efforts had been made to “arrest this pernicious virus of dishonesty and treachery.”
Wike, a former governor of Rivers State and a key member of the G-5, laid the blame squarely on Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State for undermining peace efforts.
“I made it clear to the Governor of Oyo State, 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,” Wike stated.
He explained that during a G-5 meeting held in Lagos, the governors agreed to put their differences aside and move forward in the interest of the party. “This effort was followed by a broader reconciliation meeting in Abuja, held at the residence of Senator Bukola Saraki. “Attendees included Governors Bala Mohammed, Umaru Fintiri, Seyi Makinde, and Saraki himself.”
According to Wike, the Abuja meeting led to a set of resolutions including the recognition of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary in line with a Supreme Court judgment, the withdrawal of all court cases relating to Rivers State by the party’s National Legal Adviser, and an end to cases concerning the state of emergency in Rivers.
However, Wike said those resolutions were swiftly and “brazenly” violated before the Saraki-led reconciliation committee could begin its work.
“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,” he alleged.
Wike further accused party officials of trying to sideline Anyanwu by promoting the Deputy National Secretary as acting National Secretary and using a letter from him to convene a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting — actions Wike said were “in complete violation of the agreements reached.”
He also cited the aborted PDP zonal elective congress held in Jos on May 24, 2025, which was reportedly boycotted by INEC due to procedural irregularities.
The reason, he said, was because the letter of invitation was signed by the Deputy National Secretary, not the duly recognised National Secretary.
“This is undeniably distasteful, provocative and annoying, to say the least,” Wike declared.
Reflecting on his long-standing loyalty to the PDP since 1998, Wike expressed frustration that many of those he helped politically had turned against him.
“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,” he said.
Declaring his final stance, Wike said he had lost faith in the goodwill and trust that once existed within the party and would no longer participate in any reconciliation efforts.
“I have now firmly decided to pull out of all agreements hitherto reached. I have decided to fight on until justice is attained,” the FCT Minister concluded.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.