Daniel Otera
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has dismissed growing calls for his expulsion from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), declaring that no one within the party has the courage or authority to remove him.
Speaking during a live media chat in Abuja on Monday, the former Rivers State governor addressed the political storm surrounding his role in President Bola Tinubu’s administration, stating unequivocally:
“I am still in the PDP. I worked hard for the party. I have not seen anybody who will have the guts to tell me, ‘Wike, you are not a member of the party.’ Who is that? What is his contribution to the party that is more than mine?”
The minister’s remarks come amid deepening fractures within the PDP following the 2023 general elections, in which Wike was widely criticised for endorsing the presidential candidate of the rival All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, despite being a PDP stalwart.
Wike blamed elements within the PDP for fuelling the crisis, naming Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Enugu’s Peter Mbah as key players in what he described as a prolonged campaign to undermine him.
He also publicly withdrew from reconciliation efforts led by former Senate President Bukola Saraki, stating that those initiatives were insincere.
“These people know the truth. In 2023, did I not say I wouldn’t support the PDP’s presidential candidate? Based on equity and fairness, it was clear the presidency should have gone to the South.”
Wike argued that his support for Tinubu was a principled political decision rooted in the party’s failure to honour internal zoning agreements.
“So what offence did I commit by supporting Tinubu under the APC? If I was truly playing anti-party politics, would the PDP have won the governorship and National Assembly seats in Rivers?”
Responding to speculation that he influenced the controversial declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, Wike distanced himself from the move, stating:
“I’m not the President who declared a state of emergency. If Mr President had called me, I wouldn’t have agreed. But I understand it was done to save the governor from impeachment.”
Despite ongoing political tensions with his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Wike insisted he holds no personal grudge.
“I don’t have any crisis with him (Fubara),” he said. “But he has allowed himself to be used by those who want to fight me.”
The political dispute between the two leaders continues to unsettle Rivers State, with competing loyalties tearing at the heart of the PDP’s dominance in the region.
Wike’s political survival within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may not rest solely on public sentiment or media rhetoric. Under the PDP Constitution, removing a member is not a matter of popular agitation but must follow a strict disciplinary procedure. Section 59 of the party’s constitution requires a formal investigation and grants the accused the right to defend themselves before any expulsion can be effected.
With his grip on the PDP structure in Rivers State and strategic alliances across key national figures, political analysts argue that any expulsion attempt would not only face legal constraints but trigger deeper internal fractures.
Observers also point to Wike’s electoral record as a source of his political leverage.
During the 2023 general elections, Rivers State delivered a sweeping victory for the PDP across major races.
In the gubernatorial contest, PDP’s Siminalayi Fubara secured 302,614 votes over 62% of the total while the APC’s Tonye Cole trailed with 95,274 votes INEC results.
This stronghold is frequently cited by Wike in defending his relevance and his continued stay in the party.
