Wike Resists PDP Party Convention Holding in Ibadan
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Wike Resists PDP Party
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said he is not informed of any upcoming elective convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), vowed to challenge the convention with his group.
Wike said he and his supporters would meet to decide on next line of action emphasizing that they would not allow any unfairness in the party.
The Ex governor of Rivers State governor, who’s a prominent figure in the crisis that has happened in the opposition party since its 2022 presidential primary, which he lost to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, had earlier declared that the PDP crisis was over by Atiku’s leaving the party. Wike warned that the convention would not hold if the South-South zonal congress held in Calabar, where his loyalists emerged as leaders, was recognized. Wike Resists PDP Party
Speaking on Tuesday in an interview on Channels Television, He insisted that he had no knowledge of any elective convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
“Have they given a date for Ibadan? I don’t know. When has the party’s NEC sat? When did they agree on that? The one they said is NEC is not NEC; NEC has not met. In fact, we are meeting tomorrow. NEC has not met,” he said.
Questioned if he was planning a parallel convention, Wike replied, “I am not aware that they are going for a convention in Ibadan. As a NEC member, I have not been informed, and nobody has called me for a NEC meeting. If those people who are working as a team say they are holding NEC, so be it. If no notice of meeting has been served on me as a member of NEC, I have every right to challenge that, and no one can fi things behind me”.
On whether he would go to court, Wike said, “Our group is converging tomorrow (Wednesday). Obviously, we will not allow that injustice to stand. We will not allow that impunity. We will not allow that.”
When asked if he would support of the PDP’s presidential candidate in 2027 despite actively and currently serving in President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC) government, the FCT Minister said, “I will support candidate that will make Nigeria grow, somebody who has the interest of Nigeria. I don’t believe in sentiments; I don’t believe in emotion.”
Questioned further on whether this might amount to anti-party activity, as with the G-5 governors in 2023, he insisted, “Being a party man does not mean I will not give my support to someone that has helped this country. Because I am a party man, you just want the country to start going downward?”
The PDP, however, cleared out speculation that some members were plotting a parallel national convention in Abuja.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, yesterday asserted the Ibadan convention would take place on the November 15 and 16 remained sacrosanct. He said the planning committees had been inaugurated and work had started.
The committee members is chaired by Adamawa State governor Ahmadu Fintiri, with Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke as deputy chairman, former minister Kabir Turaki (SAN) as deputy chairman 2, and Enugu State governor Peter Mbah as secretary. Senator Adolphus Wabara, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, will serve as the BOT representative.
Dismissing reports of a parallel convention, Ologunagba said, “We cannot be aware of a non-existing thing. These are speculations, and that is indeed speculation. How do you have a national convention? There is a process, and we are a party of process. What we do is follow the constitution of our party.
“Interestingly, the process has started, and we have been in sync with our regulator, INEC. The Independent National Electoral Commission has been attending all the meetings. They have witnessed everything we are doing.”
On the purported parallel convention, Ologunagba said it “might be a media thing, people trying different things. In fact, it’s nonexistent. The local planning committee is working tirelessly. The venue committee is setting things ahead of time. Even before the induction of those subcommittees, they were already working.
“We are well organized in what we do. So it is in the sphere of conjecture, probably hallucination. This train has moved on. Everything is set up in motion, as I speak.”
Speculation has been rife that Wike and his allies were pushing for a parallel convention in Abuja, pressuring Acting National Chairman Umar Damagun and the National Working Committee (NWC) to shift the event from Ibadan. Wike Resists PDP Party
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