2027: PDP, Others Blast Wike

The Peoples Democratic Party and Obidient Movement have faulted the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for dismissing the possibility of former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, running for president in 2027 on the PDP platform.

Though yet to be officially confirmed, recent media reports claimed that Obi and former President Goodluck Jonathan have been in talks with opposition leaders about rejoining the PDP to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election.

In his reaction, Wike warned against such proposals, insisting that presenting Jonathan or Obi as the PDP’s candidate could “create problems for the party.”

Speaking during his monthly media parley in Abuja on Monday, the minister also mocked the PDP’s decision to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South while keeping the party chairmanship in the North.

He noted that he had previously cautioned against neglecting this balance ahead of the 2023 general elections.

He contended that Obi’s return would only deepen the party’s troubles, arguing that the former Anambra State governor lacked political integrity, having previously described the PDP as “rotten.”

“Right from day one, I did say, with my colleagues, you are shooting yourselves, and if you allow what is happening to continue, you will pay. And what did we say? You cannot have the presidential candidate and, at the same time, the national chairman of the party. Now, you have stolen the presidential ticket; they stole it. And again, stole the National Chairman. I said it would purge you. And it really purged them.

“And I have no regret for it. I have appeared on this forum before, and I said the presidency must go back to the South for them to be able to complete their eight years. I never hid it; I said it. And people were making noise. At the end of the day, what has happened?

“Now they realise that, ‘Yes, it is true, we cannot take the President and take the chairman.’ You have given yourself the National Chairman; let the President go to the South. Why not be arrogant enough to say nothing will happen?

On the proposal to give the party’s presidential ticket to the former Anambra State governor, Wike said, “Bring Obi to where? You want to kill the party more? Some of you do not have character. Obi, who was abusing the party, said that the party is rotten. So, is the party good now for him to come and run for the presidency?

“Ambition can even make you go to Satan’s house,” he said.

The minister also dismissed the idea of fielding former President Jonathan, noting that he had attained the status of an elder statesman and earned wider respect within the international community.

He recalled how the party betrayed Jonathan in 2015 and cautioned against repeating mistakes that could spell further trouble for the PDP in the coming elections.

“You talked about Jonathan. I respect Jonathan very much. I know he enjoys the role as an elder statesman and somebody that the international community respects. I think he will continue with that.

“These people wooing Jonathan, what is their strength? Are they not the same people who played his game in 2015? Some of these people, you see, what I do not like are people who are trying to play to the gallery.

“How would Governor Bala Muhammed now be saying that the PDP is waiting for either Goodluck Jonathan, the former president, or Peter Obi? For Christ’s sake, nobody should cause a problem for the party. When it causes a problem for the party, you will now say people are causing problems for the party. You are the one causing the problem,” he stated.

The former Rivers State governor dismissed any possibility of him running for the presidency, stating, “I will not run. I have integrity; I have character. There is no way (I can run for the office).

“My appointor (President Bola Tinubu) is there, and we are saying he should run. Then, I will turn around to say I want to run? We are talking like people who don’t even have integrity. What will my children ask me?”

Reacting, former PDP National Secretary and member of the National Executive Committee, Ibrahim Tsauri, claimed that Wike played a key role in Obi’s exit from the party in 2022.

In an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, Tsauri said Obi’s return to the PDP would benefit both the party and the former Anambra State governor.

He stated, “That is the beauty of democracy. In a democracy, you can sit down and make your insinuations. Even if it doesn’t work, you say it out loud and go back and sleep. No politician belonging to any political party will tell you that if somebody joins the political party, the party is going to die or that it will be the end of the party.

“It means that particular person is not a true member of that political party. And not only that, a man like Peter Obi, who came third during the last presidential election, you tell Nigerians that the party will die if he comes into that particular political party.

“The fact of the matter is that the Minister of the FCT, as every other Nigerian knows, is working to destroy the PDP. Whether Peter Obi comes in or stays out, his (Wike) work is to destroy the PDP. So, he doesn’t need to threaten anybody, or to frighten anybody, or to intimidate anybody. If Peter Obi wants to come to the PDP, he will come to the PDP.

“If Peter Obi comes to the PDP, and even former President Goodluck Jonathan, I am telling you, he will help the PDP to grow and to return to its former strength. The PDP will also help him. To me, former President Jonathan and Peter Obi are welcome into the PDP. And if they come, I am sure they will be given fair treatment like any other member of the PDP.”

Also, in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, the Deputy National Youth Leader of the PDP and also a member of the National Executive Committee, Timothy Osadolor, stated that Obi, like every other Nigerian, would be received into the party in line with the provisions of Nigeria’s constitution and that of the party.

He stated, “Well, I don’t expect anyone to take such comments seriously. The party is not meant for one man, one group, or one profession. It is open to every Nigerian who is 18 years and above, eligible to vote, and of good character. A conviction is not even part of the process that determines membership in any political party in Nigeria.

“The truth is this: as long as you are 18 years and above, you can vote, be voted for, and are eligible to join any political party in Nigeria. The Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to freedom of association.

“Again, there has been no resolution from the National Executive Committee, the National Working Committee, the Board of Trustees, or any other organ of the party that bars anyone from joining or leaving the party.

“For one man to speak as though he alone can decide who belongs in the party is unnecessary and overreaching. It is a serious overreach, and I must say it was wrong of him to have made such a statement.”

Osadolor advised Wike to focus more on his Federal Government-assigned duty of developing the FCT, “which, to be fair, is going well for now, rather than meddle in the internal affairs of the party.”

“He should also realise that the party already has its executive leadership in place, and they are the ones responsible for running its affairs. He should allow them to do their job,” the Deputy National Youth Leader added.

In a swift reaction, Obi, through his former campaign spokesman and National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Dr Yunusa Tanko, faulted Wike’s frequent attacks, describing them as an obsession.

Tanko said, “It is quite surprising. These continuous media parleys that Wike hosts every month are becoming worrisome. Is it the duty of the FCT minister to do so, or does he prefer to waste taxpayers’ money?

“He is not the Governor of the FCT or the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He is just a minister. Even the President does not do this monthly show of shame. That is what I will call it.

“Instead of him giving a monthly account of the money given to him as the FCT minister, he is busy engaging in trivial issues, which are political and not even part of his schedule of duty.

“His particular references to Peter Obi, continuously, seem to be a way to always be in the limelight and act as if he has credibility. He is obsessed with this man all the time. Every month, you must speak about him. It is totally unacceptable. Peter Obi does not even bother whether he exists or not.”

Tanko further accused Wike of using government funds to pursue personal grudges rather than focus on his duties.

“We are only focusing on what he wants to do for the people, pulling them out of poverty, changing the narrative, talking about health and security, and challenging the government where they are wrong.

“I think there will be a time when he will be held accountable for the people’s funds that he is using to malign individuals he has no business with daily.

“These continuous media parleys should be discarded, and the media should not continue to gratify them. If he is accounting for what is already in his coffers and seeing what he is doing, it is understandable. But this one now, he is just engaging in political brouhaha, which is totally unacceptable, Tanko said.