Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has faulted Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State's allegation that, in a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, he offered to hold down the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the President.
He said that everyone knew his stand on the President's re-election.
Wike made the rebuttal during his end-of-year media chat in Port Harcourt on Monday.
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Governor Makinde had recently told journalists that Wike had, during a visit to the State House in 2024, promised to 'hold PDP' for President Tinubu.
But Wike refuted Makinde's claim, wondering why the Oyo State governor could lie so brazenly.
He said that the meeting they held with the President had nothing to do with the PDP but was to show support for his leadership.
According to him, his position in supporting Tinubu had never been hidden and did not require a meeting to confirm it.
"Seyi said I told Tinubu that I will hold PDP for him. Nothing like that happened. Everyone knows my stand on Tinubu; I don't need a meeting to tell him that.
"As a minister, I have a duty to ensure that members of the G-5 benefited from the Tinubu administration in one way or the other," he said.
Wike said Governor Makinde was only angry because President Tinubu did not approve his candidate for a ministerial appointment.
The minister added that it was wrong for the governor to go on national television to lie against people simply because he did not get the ministerial slot he wanted from the President.
He, however, stated that he had not received the kind of support Makinde got from President Tinubu, including a N50 billion grant for victims of the January 2024 explosion in Bodija, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Wike maintained that the Oyo governor owed his people a duty to tell them how the money was spent, adding that such funds should have been appropriated before spending.
My Grouse With Wike - Makinde
Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, has insisted that the rift between him and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, was because the latter was trying to make the country a one-party state.
Speaking through his Special Adviser on Media, Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju, the governor maintained that the minister planned to hold the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) down for President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
According to him, making the country a one-party state would destroy the hard-earned democracy.
While noting that Governor Makinde had spoken on issues regarding the rift, Olanrewaju said, "It behoves on anyone the people would want to believe."
Makinde had, during a media chat, said: "I was in a meeting with President Tinubu, Nyesom Wike and others when Wike volunteered to hold down the PDP for Tinubu against the 2027 election.
"I was in shock. Wike can support the President in 2027, but I will not," he said.
However, Wike has denied saying this at a meeting with the President.
Wike Addresses Fubara Feud, Says All Can Never Be Well In Politics
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared the political rift with Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, far from resolved, bluntly stating that all can never be well in politics.
Speaking during his monthly media parley in Port Harcourt on Monday, the minister directly addressed recent comments by Governor Fubara, who, while defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC), suggested some individuals were covertly supporting President Bola Tinubu while operating from the shadows.
Wike challenged the insinuation, widely interpreted as targeting him, given his position as a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member serving in an APC-led administration.
"I don't know who is following Tinubu and doing 'corner, corner.' How could that be when the whole of Nigeria knows that I have stated openly that this is what I will do? Everybody knows that my position is not hidden," he said.
The minister argued that his support for President Tinubu was decisive and public, crediting it for influencing wider support during the elections.
"If I were doing 'corner, corner,' so many people would not have supported Tinubu. The council chairmen wouldn't have gone," he said.
He framed the dispute as a matter of political integrity, contrasting himself with unreliable actors.
Wike Blasts Makinde Over Alleged Secret Deal With Tinubu, Denies Plot To Undermine PDP
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has launched an attack on Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, labelling him frustrated and dismissing as fiction the claim that he promised President Bola Tinubu he would undermine the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Wike made this known on Monday during his media chat with selected journalists in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The verbal assault comes amid deepening internal strife within the PDP, with the minister challenging the motive and timing of the allegation that he held a private meeting with the President to plot against his own party.
"First of all, you ask yourself, what was that meeting for? What was the purpose of that meeting - that would have led me to say, 'Mr President, I will hold PDP down for you?"' Wike asked.
He questioned why Governor Makinde, who was allegedly present, had kept silent for so long if the claim were true.
"Why did Seyi Makinde not come up all this while to tell the party, 'See what Wike is doing'? I was in a meeting. I saw what Wike said. It's not correct," Wike added.
Setting the record straight, the former Rivers State governor clarified that the visit in question was not a clandestine one-on-one meeting, but a group visit involving several PDP leaders after the general elections.
"There was no such [private] meeting. Rather, my humble self, the former governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, the former governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, the former governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and Seyi Makinde, went to see the President.
"We went to see the President after the elections were over to discuss certain things."
He further explained that he invited the President's Chief of Staff to join them to help reiterate their points, dismissing any notion of a pre-arranged, strategic political deal.
"I was the one who said, 'Look, Chief of Staff, come and sit down, so we can remind the President of what we have discussed.' There was nothing like a meeting we booked to go and see Mr President," he said.
The minister insisted it was completely out of place to suggest he pledged to weaken the PDP, calling the allegation very unfair and attributing Makinde's actions to sheer frustration.
Resolve Crisis Or Lose 2027, Wike Warns PDP
Wike also warned the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to resolve the party's internal wrangling ahead of the 2027 general elections or risk losing elections into major offices.
Wike gave the warning on Monday during a media chat in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, where he said that if the party does not resolve its lingering crisis, the PDP's chances of bouncing back to power in the next electoral cycle would be jeopardised.
"We have a leadership that is not focused; we have a leadership that does not know what to do or take any suggestions. If the leadership is committed and comes back to say, 'We have made a mistake. Why are things happening this way, and what do we do to make corrections?'
"It is not just to take over the government; you have to position yourself. If the leadership is like that, you say, 'Look, by 2027, it is likely that we may not make it, but are we going to allow the party to die?'
"Can't we start to build up and make the right decisions against 2027? It is all dependent on the leadership; that is what I will say," Wike said.
The PDP has struggled with internal crises since the 2023 elections and has lost several members, including serving governors, to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
During the media chat, the former Rivers State governor also mocked the November 15 PDP National Convention held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
He accused Governor Seyi Makinde of being desperate to have total control of the party and of obtaining an ex parte order from an Ibadan court for the exercise to hold.
LEADERSHIP reports that Wike and Makinde, who had been close allies, have been at loggerheads recently.
On December 23, Makinde accused Wike of attempting to weaken the PDP in support of President Bola Tinubu's second-term ambition.
Makinde made the statement while recounting discussions he said he had with President Tinubu, Wike and others, arguing that such political manoeuvres threaten Nigeria's multiparty democracy.
Speaking during a media briefing at the Government House in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the governor disclosed that President Tinubu had once asked him to assist in organising the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, a request he said he turned down because of his membership of the PDP.
The Oyo governor further alleged that during a meeting attended by President Tinubu, Wike, the President's Chief of Staff and other officials, the FCT minister openly offered to hold down the PDP for the President ahead of the 2027 general election.
Makinde said the comment came as a shock to him and raised concerns about efforts to erode the opposition and push the country towards a one-party system.
2027: PDP, APC Already Collapsed Into Renewed Hope Family In Rivers - Wike
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said that in Rivers State, all members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have effectively put aside partisan differences to embrace President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda.
Wike made this known on Monday while addressing leaders, youths and women from Etche and Omuma local government areas of Rivers State during his visit to the two councils.
According to the former Rivers State governor, political labels now matter less than unity and collective commitment to development.
"In Rivers State, APC and PDP have already collapsed into one family, the Renewed Hope family," Wike said.
He explained that the collaboration across party lines was driven by shared values, mutual respect and the desire to deliver dividends of democracy to the people.
"I don't want to hear again, 'I am PDP' or 'I am APC.' What I want to hear is that you are working together. All of us are members of the Renewed Hope agenda. It is one family," he added.
Wike said his visit to Etche and Omuma was not for political campaigning but to appreciate the people for their longstanding support.
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"We didn't come for any rally. I came to say thank you for the support you have given to us over the years. We are not ungrateful people," he stated.
The minister commended the leadership of the local council chairman, describing him as central to sustaining unity and political stability in the area.
Urging party leaders and elected officials to honour commitments made in the interest of peace and development, he insisted:"Agreement is agreement. When you agree with people, you must keep it," He stressed that unity remains the key to political and economic progress at the grassroots.
"When you are united, you get results. When you are divided, you lose," he warned.
Wike expressed appreciation to women, youths and community leaders for their cooperation and support, noting that the peaceful atmosphere during the visit reflected growing political maturity in the state.
"This is not a rally; it is simply to say thank you," he said.
PDP Vows To Vie For President In 2027
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it will field a credible presidential candidate and go on to win in 2027, contrary to Wike's claims.
The national publicity secretary of PDP, Comrade Ini Ememobong, in a statement reacting to Wike's comments during his end of year media chat, said the FCT minister is the "number one supporter" of the presumptive candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the 2027 presidential election.
Noting that Wike is engaged in anti-party activities to the benefit of APC, he described the FCT as " a constant agent provocateur in the political space, creating trouble to mask his selfish intentions."
The party said since Wike assumed power as Governor in Rivers State in 2015, he has been a recurrent troublemaker in the leadership of the PDP, adding that his "politics thrives on perpetual conflict, feeding on attention and seeking relevance through calculated disruption and when starved of attention, seeks to destroy everything."
The party spokesman added that Wike's declaration to support the APC candidate in 2027 has taken off the mask of pretence of his group.
"Nigerians are now clearly aware of their disposition to destroy the PDP as a part of their bargain to support the President, a clandestine agreement reached for their selfish reasons. We remind Wike that as a lawyer, he knows that agreements made to achieve an illegal purpose are not enforceable and should not be encouraged.
"We assure Nigerians that the PDP will field a credible presidential candidate who will receive the massive support of Nigerians and will go on to win the presidential elections in 2027.
"Our party is the Peoples Democratic Party, and no one person has the capacity to personalise the party," the party said.
