.png)
20 hours ago
1
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has revealed that the lingering crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should be blamed on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who allegedly promised President Bola Tinubu to “hold down” the party for re-election in 2027.
Makinde who made the allegations during a media chat in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Tuesday, said his fallout with Wike who was once his ally in the G-5 governor’s movement who opposed the PDP’s choice of Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate and Iyorchia Ayu as national chairman ahead of the 2023 general election, stemmed from that unilateral decision by Wike without consulting anyone.
Makinde said his relationship with Wike collapsed after he made what he described as the outrageous declaration during a meeting with Tinubu, which he said the President neither requested nor endorsed.
“The real issue was that I was in a meeting with the President. Wike, the President’s Chief of Staff and two others were also at that meeting. And Wike said to the President, ‘I will hold the PDP for you against 2027,” Makinde said.
Continuing, the Oyo governor said:
“I was in shock. So we got to the veranda, and I said, ‘Wike, did we agree to this?’ The real issue is that Wike would like to support the President for 2027 – that is fine; it is within his right to do that.
“But also some of us who want to ensure that democracy survive and we don’t drift into a one-party state, and we want to ensure that the PDP survive, he should also allow us to do our own thing. That is just the issue between Wike and me.”
Makinde further explained that attempts were made to engage Wike to reconsider his stance to support Tinubu, but the minister has remained unmoved.
“After that meeting, I kept thinking, the President did not ask him to do it; he was the one who volunteered to do that. So when I was telling our mutual friend, I said maybe he was talking about an errand the President never sent him.
“So, let’s engage him to see whether he would back out, but he never did. So I said now is the time to confront him because I told him, from that day, I will never be a part of this, and that is why I will not support the President for 2027. Wike can support him, but it is also within my right to decide within the political space who I will support or what I will do in 2027,” Makinde added.
Makinde emphasized his opposition to any plan that could weaken opposition parties and push Nigeria toward a one-party system, warning that such a move could endanger democracy.
“If you move the country towards a one-party state, what happens when you need a bipartisan approach to issues? Who are you going to call? The day you move the country towards a one-party state, you remember what happened with the Arab Spring. Once people don’t have leadership, they will find leadership by all means.
“What Nigerians would show politicians and elites in 2027, we cannot imagine right now.
“I regret supporting Tinubu in the 2023 election. I am not above mistakes,” Makinde said.
He also called on Nigerians to resist any attempt to impose a one-party system in the country, stressing that a competitive multi-party democracy remained essential for national stability.
He also criticised governors who defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying such moves did not address the realities facing Nigerians.
“When they say governors have defected, I am not bothered. Where is hunger and anger in the land? Has it defected?” he asked rhetorically.
The post Gov Makinde reveals real reason Wike instigated crisis to bring down PDP appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Ripples Nigeria.
