The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has promised to react to statements credited to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Nyesom Wike, that the party cannot sanction him on the account of his acceptance to serve in the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government.
Wike who was recently named the FCT Minister by President Bola Tinubu has not stopped throwing shade at the PDP having earlier claimed that the leadership of the party at various levels asked him to accept Tinubu’s nomination.
In his maiden address to the media shortly after his swearing-in at the State House, Wike said, “Before this appointment came, I wrote to the National Party Chairman, the Minority leader of the House of Representatives, and Senate, Zonal Chairman of the party, my State Chairman, my Governor. All of them wrote back and said ‘Accept.’
“I am not afraid of anybody. Have you ever seen that I am afraid of anybody? Is there anybody I want to fight that I will not tell you I want to fight?”
Appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the Minister took his attack on the PDP to a new level when he said he had yet to see the person who would expel him from the party.
He said, “Governance is not about party. The party is a vehicle that conveys you. I’m a PDP member, unrepentant “I never hid my intention. As a PDP member, I came out to support fairness, equity, and justice. I feel at home working for the government of Tinubu. He is a man who means well for the country.
“I’m not here to work for a party. I’m here to support the President who has confidence in me. I owe nobody an apology.”
Asked if he wasn’t concerned about possible suspension, Wike responded, saying, “How can anybody talk about expelling me? With all due respect, I have not seen that person. Nobody will do it. So the issue that they will do it does not arise
“Who will discipline me? I should be the one calling for the discipline of people who violated the party’s constitution on rotation,” he added.
His Wednesday outing has led to calls for his sanction and according to the PDP spokesman, Debo Ologunagba, the party will address the issues very soon.
In a telephone conversation with The PUNCH, Ologunagba said, “As a party, we will address the issue very soon. We heard what was said and we are taking our time to react. I can assure you that as soon as we are ready, we will make our response public.”
Meanwhile, a PDP chieftain and loyalist of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, Mr Dele Momodu has described some claims made by Wike during his interview with Channels Television as “arrogant lies” which must be exposed.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Momodu said that after watching the interview last night, I immediately called Mr Seun Okinbaloye of Channels TV and told him I wished I was in Nigeria and would have come to respond to the many arrogant lies he allowed Wike to get away with.
“When did Wike become the sole owner of PDP that he cannot be disciplined by a 24-year-old political party? It would have been nice to know if he founded the party or when he acquired majority shares in it since he now has more money than Aliko Dangote.
“Wike should quote the portion of the PDP Constitution that says power must come to the South. He should tell the world the chairman of the zoning committee that threw the contest open to all zones of the party and why he agreed to buy the presidential nomination form.
“When did Wike become the champion of the South? Was it after his bid to be Vice President to Atiku Abubakar was rejected or after requests to handpick the juiciest ministerial portfolios, like the ones he got from Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, were rebuffed?”
That said, Momodu asked if the FCT minister would have sustained his continuous attack on Atiku if he had been selected as his running mate in the 2023 presidential election.
“Would he have continued to flagrantly badmouth Atiku if he had selected him as his running mate?
“Wike and four other governors were parading themselves as G-5 while frolicking from Nigeria to Europe and back. Three of them from Benue, Enugu and Abia (States) lost their senatorial bids, spectacularly and resoundingly.
“Seun should have asked Wike, Where are the other “suicide bombers” today? Gone with the wind. The G-5 was always about one man’s ego and ambition.
“Wike claimed, contentiously, that he delivered Rivers State to Tinubu only, one state out of six in the South/South region. Was that enough to justify all this grandiloquent vituperation by Nigeria’s co-president?” he asked.
The statement continued, “His three acolytes couldn’t deliver and they’ve since been abandoned in the lurch!! What happened to their regular joint press conferences?
“Wike claimed that all PDP governors sent ministerial nominations to Tinubu. He should tell us how many of them were eventually approved, except the one he handpicked from a neighbouring state.
“Wike forgot to recommend any member of the G-5. No nominee of Gov Seyi Makinde was visible on the ministerial list.
“Wike seems to know more about the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal verdict ahead of the rest of us by saying on television that he and his people are only waiting for PEPT to finish, in order to unleash a reign of one party state on Nigeria.
“His mission is very clear-collapse PDP and hand over its remnants to APC, as long as he remains the co-President with Tinubu and is allowed to go all out on his vengeful mission.
“Wike is obviously a poor student of history. Barely three months ago, Muhammadu Buhari was the Alpha & Omega of APC. His word was law. Where’s he today? All the blames for the failure of Nigeria are being heaped on him.
“His most fastidious loyal men- Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, and Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele are already in Tinubu’s gulag, indefinitely.
“Buhari must be wondering how quickly he has been thrown under the bus. Truth is, as they say in America, that is how the cookies crumble.”
