…Wike also alleged that Makinde’s grievance stemmed from President Tinubu’s refusal to approve his nominee for a ministerial appointment.
PORTHARCOURT, NIGERIA- The iNews Times | Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has attacked Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, over claims that he promised to “hold” the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for President Bola Tinubu.
Wike, who denied the allegation, also criticised his successor, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, saying the governor’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) came too late and without any political structure to strengthen his new party.
Speaking during a media interaction in Ibadan last Tuesday, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde said his relationship with Wike deteriorated after the former Rivers governor allegedly made what he described as an unsolicited declaration during a meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
Makinde claimed that during a meeting attended by the President, Wike, the President’s Chief of Staff and others, Wike told Tinubu that he would “hold the PDP” for him ahead of the 2027 elections, an assertion Makinde said left him shocked.
However, Wike dismissed the claim during his end-of-year media chat in Port Harcourt on Sunday, insisting that the meeting had nothing to do with the PDP but was merely a post-election visit to express support for Tinubu’s leadership.
According to the FCT Minister, his support for the President has always been public and did not require any special meeting to affirm.
“Seyi said I told Tinubu that I would hold PDP for him. Nothing like that happened. Everyone knows my position on Tinubu. I don’t need a meeting to tell him that,” Wike said.
He added that as a minister, it was his responsibility to ensure that members of the G-5 group benefitted from the Tinubu administration.
Wike also alleged that Makinde’s grievance stemmed from President Tinubu’s refusal to approve his nominee for a ministerial appointment.
He further claimed that he had not enjoyed the level of federal support Makinde reportedly received, including the alleged N50 billion grant for victims of the Bodija explosion in Ibadan.
Reacting, Makinde’s Special Adviser on Media, Dr Suleimon Olanrewaju, clarified that only N30 billion was released, explaining that part of the funds was paid directly to victims, while the remainder was used for reconstruction and restoration.
Nonetheless, Wike insisted that the Oyo State governor owed the public a duty to account for the funds, stressing that such expenditure should have been properly appropriated.
Turning his attention to Fubara, Wike said that before the governor defected from the PDP, about 22 local government chairmen and nearly half of the Rivers State House of Assembly members had already left the party for the APC, describing Fubara’s move as belated.
“As a governor, he has the Assembly, the council chairmen, the party leadership and members of the National Assembly to move with him. In this case, who did he move with?” Wike asked, adding that those defections occurred independently.
He warned that openly declaring support for President Tinubu does not guarantee re-election, noting that political slogans do not automatically translate into party tickets.
Wike also denied claims that there was any fanfare at the Rivers State Government House when Fubara defected to the APC, insisting that party registration must be done at the ward level.
By this, the minister appeared to reject the claim that Fubara is the political leader of Rivers State, contrary to the position of the APC state chairman, Chief Tony Okocha, who had described Fubara as such while issuing him APC membership number 0001.
Wike stated that whenever he decides to leave the PDP, his loyalists across the country would follow him.
Responding to Fubara’s comment that those supporting Tinubu should not do so “in secret,” Wike said he has been the most criticised minister in the current administration because of his open support for the President.
“Nigerians know that I supported the President in 2023. I did not hide it. That is leadership,” he said, adding that the PDP stands no chance of winning the Federal Capital Territory in the next election.
On the alleged collapse of the peace agreement brokered by President Tinubu in Rivers State, Wike blamed Fubara for failing to honour the terms, accusing the governor of being economical with the truth in his dealings with the state legislature.
Meanwhile, the PDP has rejected Wike’s claim that the party no longer exists in Rivers State.
Acting PDP Chairman in the state, Nname Ewor, said the party remains fully operational despite the defection of Governor Fubara, 16 members of the state Assembly and some National Assembly members.
“The APC in Rivers State is led by Fubara, while the PDP is led by my humble self,” Ewor said.
He added that any agreement between Wike and Fubara was personal and not binding on the people of Rivers State, who alone have the power to renew the governor’s mandate in 2027.
Ewor also described claims of PDP’s collapse in the state as false, noting that Wike no longer belongs to the party and is not officially a member of the APC.
Similarly, the acting PDP Secretary in the state, Chief Ojima Ochima, warned the FCT Minister against making statements capable of inciting ethnic tension, stressing that all ethnic groups in Rivers State are politically equal and important.
