…Says His Critics Now in APC
…Obi to FG: SE Cannot Be “Captured”
…More PDP Govs Leaving For APC – Fayose
By Yinka Giwa
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has said that the recent wave of defections by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors and leaders to the All Progressives Congress (APC) has vindicated his earlier actions and political stance.
Speaking at the flag-off of the construction of the main carriageways on the Outer Southern Expressway in Abuja yesterday, Wike said those who had accused him of working for the APC and destabilising the PDP should now commend him for “doing a good job” as many of them have joined the ruling party.
“I have been watching on daily television and social media, people who said I want to destabilise the party, I am working for the APC,” the former Rivers governor said. “All of them are now in the APC. So, which means if it is true, they should commend me for working for where they are heading. So, I should be commended for doing a good job for them.”
Wike, who remains a member of the PDP but has been serving in President Bola Tinubu’s APC-led administration since 2023, said the defections showed that his support for Tinubu was justified.
The Minister was instrumental in delivering Rivers State votes to the APC during the 2023 presidential election, despite being a PDP member.
In recent days, the nation’s political space has been awash with news of defections by PDP governors to the APC. On Tuesday, Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, publicly announced his resignation from the PDP, along with all commissioners, local government chairpersons, councillors, and a majority of party executives in the state.
The following day, Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, also resigned from the PDP, although he did not specify the party he intends to join. In the last six months, the opposition PDP has lost no fewer than four governors — Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), Peter Mbah (Enugu), and Douye Diri (Bayelsa).
Meanwhile, Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has criticised the recent spate of defections, saying Nigeria is not under military rule where people can be “captured.”
Speaking with journalists in Abuja yesterday, Obi said leadership in a democracy should be about persuasion and service, not coercion.
“As for the alleged plot to capture the South-East, we are not in a military time when you capture people,” Obi said, reacting to reports that the ruling APC was seeking to dominate the region politically. “You are a leader. You tend to do the right things for them to follow you. So I don’t think anybody is capturing anywhere.”
Describing Enugu Governor Peter Mbah as a “good friend,” Obi said he believes Mbah made his decision based on his own political views and calculations.
The former Anambra State governor called on public officials to prioritise governance that directly improves citizens’ lives, warning that political realignments alone cannot guarantee popular support.
“The government needs to do more if it wants the people to support it,” Obi said.
Meanwhile, former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has said that three more governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will soon dump the opposition party, following the recent resignation of Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri.
Fayose made the claim on Wednesday while speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, where he assessed the state of the PDP in the wake of growing defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to him, the opposition party’s internal crisis has reached a breaking point, and it may soon be left with only five governors. “Let me tell you, there are three more governors that will leave soon. There will be five remaining. The five remaining, one of them will struggle to catch the ticket, and they all know that the ticket is an ordinary tissue paper,” Fayose said.
The former Ekiti governor accused some sitting PDP governors of contributing to the party’s decline due to their obsession with controlling its structures, arguing that their actions have weakened the opposition. “They are largely killing the party because they want to control it. This is what happened in 2023,” he added.
Fayose dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu or the APC was coercing opposition governors to defect, insisting instead that the defections were driven by self-interest and personal ambition. “President Tinubu should not be blamed for PDP’s problems. The PDP is sick and remains perpetually sick without a cure in view,” he stated.
He maintained that the root of the PDP’s troubles lies in internal sabotage and poor leadership, accusing some of the party’s top figures of destroying it from within. “Those who killed the party know themselves. There is a difference between a former governor and a sitting governor,” he said.
Although Fayose remains a card-carrying member of the PDP, he distanced himself from the responsibility of fixing the crisis, stressing that the burden now lies with those currently leading the party. “I have done my part. The people who are there now must accept responsibility and tell themselves the truth,” he said.