The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has described his purported expulsion from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by a faction led by Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde and his Bauchi State counterpart, Bala Mohammed, as a joke taken too far.
Wike stated this during a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of his faction held at his official residence in Abuja on Monday .
He described Makinde as his junior brother who met him in PDP and as such has no powers to expel him from the party.
The former Rivers State governor stressed that Makinde who was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) before defecting to the PDP, has no power to push out of a party he met him in.
The PDP crisis has been festering for years now and culminated in the expulsion of Wike, former Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, and many others by the faction backed by Makinde and Mohammed.
Also expelled were the former National Secretary of PDP, Samuel Anyanwu, former National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, Kamaldeen Ajibade, ex-National Legal Adviser, Mao Ohuabunwa, a former lawmaker, Austin Nwachukwu, a former Imo state PDP chairman; Amah Nnanna Abraham, former Abia State PDP chairman, Dan Orbih, former National Vice-Chairman (south-south), and Turnah George.
In a retaliatory move, the Wike faction also announced the expulsion of Makinde, Mohammed and other key members of the faction.
The group also formed a parallel National Working Committee (NWC), Board of Trustees (BoT), and National Executive Committee (NEC).
In a post shared by his media aide, Lere Olayinka on Monday, Wike said he has been part of the PDP since its founding leaders conceived the idea in the late 1990s.
He added that no one can chase out those who have remained loyal and sacrificed for the party.
“Seyi Makinde is my junior brother. He cannot expel me from the PDP where he met me when he defected from the SDP,” Wike said.
“How can those who met me in my house want to chase me away? How can it be? That will never happened, I will never allow them to destroy PDP.
“Ask Bala Mohammed which party he ran under as a senator. Our party has always accommodated people who came in and rose to become governors and senators.
“But they now think they can push out those who made sacrifices for the party from its inception. If people allowed them before, we will not allow them.”
Wike also criticised the Kabiru Turaki-led NWC of the PDP, backed by Bala and Makinde, for “violating court orders” by holding an “illegal convention”.
“You went to a state high court to sue INEC, asking that the convention must take place, and you got an ex parte order to override judgments of the federal high court. How do you disobey two final judgments and still claim leadership?” he stated.
“You held a convention without obeying the court, and now you are back asking a federal high court to recognise you. If INEC already recognises you, what exactly are you going to court for?
“We must not allow our party to die. Leadership requires commitment and honesty, not propaganda. If we don’t respect our own laws, how do we earn respect from Nigerians?” he asked.
Wike also urged party members to rally behind lawful leadership and work to rebuild the PDP along the lines of internal democracy and respect for the judiciary.
“Among those who brought him to me are the former Governor who is here,” he said.
, Nyesom Wike, has described his purported expulsion from the Peoples Democratic Party){kind=link}