The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Nyesom Wike, has said that the opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP, of which he is a prominent member, must make an unequivocal pronouncement, zoning its presidential ticket to the South in the 2027 elections.
“This is in the spirit of fairness, inclusion, federal character principles, and respect for our party constitution, after the unbroken years of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who is from the north.”
He also said that the decision of the G5 governors, who insisted on respect for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) constitution by zoning the party’s presidential ticket to the south in 2023, saved Nigeria from crisis.
Wike stated this when he hosted the party’s stakeholders under the aegis of “Concerned Stakeholders of the PDP” from the 36 states of the federation and the FCT, in Abuja yesterday.
He argued that the activities of the G5 Governors had stabilised the country, stressing the need to respect the constitutions of the party and Nigeria.
“You may like us, you may hate us; the truth of the matter is if G5 did not take the decision we took, this country would have been in crisis.
“It doesn’t matter who the beneficiary was, but the right thing had to be done, and we still stand by that decision.
“We have continued to emphasise that the party’s constitution and that of the country should be respected.
“If the party had listened to what we said, we wouldn’t have been where we are today,” he said.
Despite the festering internal crisis in the PDP that resulted in many of its key members, including state governors, senators, and members of the House of Representatives, defecting to the ruling All Progressives Party (APC), the Minister said that the party would survive its current adversity and become a formidable force.
The immediate past Rivers State Governor is one of the key actors in the PDP crisis that denied the party victory in the 2023 presidential election.
But yesterday, Wike, who recently announced that he would work for the re-election of President Tinubu in the 2027 election, however, stressed the need for members to always respect the constitution of the party.
Some of the stakeholders included former Gov. Ifeanyi Uguanyi of Enugu, former Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue, and former Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia.
Also at the meeting were the embattled National Secretary of the PDP, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, and former Senate Minority Leader, Sen. Philip Aduda.
Former federal and state lawmakers and some zonal and state party executives, among others, equally attended the meeting.
The minister, while addressing the stakeholders, emphasised that the PDP should not be allowed to die, describing the concerned stakeholders as those who believe in the survival of the party.
“All of you here are those who are committed to the survival of our party, not just talking on television or in the newspapers, but committed to the party at various levels,” he said.
Wike stressed that as an opposition party, members of the PDP should not continue to act with impunity, adding that no opposition party acts with impunity.
“Ours is to continue to pacify people and bring them together and desist from saying that they should go to hell.
“Let us not allow greed; let us not allow ego to kill our party,” he advised
On his part, Ortom noted that he who pays the piper dictates the tune and challenged anyone in Nigeria to tell Nigerians who has contributed to the growth of the PDP more than Wike.
He said that President Bola Tinubu understands that the country should not be a one-party state, which was why he appointed Wike as the FCT minister.
“For whatever reason, PDP made a lot of mistakes and that is why we are where we are today,” Ortom said.
In a communique after the meeting which Wike read, he reiterated the commitment of the stakeholders to another four years of southern presidency, after Buhari’s unbroken eight years in power.
He also said they unequivocally reaffirmed Sen. Anyanwu as the duly elected and substantive National Secretary of the party.
“In line with the provisions of our party constitution, only the National Secretary, Anyanwu, can issue notices of meetings of the National Convention, NEC, National Caucus and the NWC.
“To this end, all notices not issued by him and actions founded on them, including correspondences to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
“Furthermore, it is clear from the constitution that only the National Convention, properly and duly constituted, can remove Anyanwu as the national secretary, arising from his status as a member of the NEC of the party.
“We, therefore, demand that the acting National Chairman and the National Secretary jointly issue a notice to INEC with an attached agenda for the NEC meeting of the party, being the only pathway to abide by extant laws.
Wike reiterated the stakeholders’ commitment to the party and urged all members to uphold the rule of law and respect constitutional mandates.
He also called on members of the party to resist all manoeuvres aimed at destabilising the party and support the efforts of the National Reconciliation Committee headed by former Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki.