A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tony Ehilebo, has accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, of being the principal force behind the lingering crisis rocking Nigeria’s main opposition party.
Ehilebo alleged that Wike’s actions are driven by unresolved grievances stemming from the PDP presidential primary held in 2022, where the former Rivers State governor lost the party’s ticket to ex–Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
“I want to speak directly to the FCT minister because he is the root of this whole issue,” Ehilebo said. “He was deeply unhappy with what happened in 2023, and as a result, he worked for the All Progressives Congress (APC).”
According to him, Wike’s resentment has endured longer than expected and has fallen short of the standards expected of a senior party leader.
“As a young man, we look up to people who should set the standard, and what he is doing today does not reflect that,” Ehilebo stated, warning that history would ultimately judge the FCT minister’s actions.
“History will record that here was a man to whom the PDP gave everything at every stage of his political life,” he said.
Ehilebo further alleged that Wike’s political dominance and style contributed to the defection of prominent figures, including former PDP vice-presidential candidate in the 2019 election, Peter Obi, and the current Minister of Works, Dave Umahi.
“Wike was said to have had firm control of the PDP structure in Anambra State. Peter Obi did not even have a say in his own state,” he claimed. “We always appealed to the conscience of the man with the most power, and that man was Wike. Somehow, he always finds himself in power.”
He stressed that his comments were not intended to diminish Wike’s political stature but to caution him.
“This is not to discredit him; it is to remind him that history is watching the decisions he is making today,” Ehilebo added.
The PDP chieftain also accused Wike of weakening the party by dragging it into prolonged legal battles and sustaining internal conflicts.
“We cannot deny his involvement in what is happening in the party today,” he said. “But he should remember that the PDP has a responsibility to function as a strong opposition to the government.”
The crisis within the PDP can be traced to the aftermath of the party’s 2022 presidential primary, where Atiku Abubakar emerged victorious over Wike and other aspirants. Displeased with the outcome, Wike—then governor of Rivers State—argued that the party’s presidential ticket should have been zoned to the South rather than to Atiku, who hails from the North.
Repeated efforts to reconcile Wike and other aggrieved party leaders proved unsuccessful, culminating in the emergence of the G-5 group, led by Wike, which openly supported the APC during the 2023 presidential election.
In that election, APC candidate Bola Tinubu defeated Atiku, Peter Obi, and other contenders to win the presidency. Following his inauguration, Tinubu appointed Wike as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
Last year, during a now-nullified PDP convention, party leaders announced the expulsion of Wike and several others. However, the FCT minister has consistently maintained that he remains a bona fide member of the PDP, dismissing the Oyo State convention as a “jamboree.”
Despite insisting that the PDP is not dead, Wike has openly declared his support for President Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
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