More revelations are coming out over the clash between Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and why they went there separate ways politically.
The governor and the minister, a former Governor of Rivers states were once political ally until recently when their political interests clashed, the duo now controls different factions of the party.
According to Governor Makinde, the 2027 presidential election and how to ensure that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is re-elected into office is at the middle of the dispute.
The Minister has declared his support for the president re-lection bid, even though he’s a member of the PDP while the president belongs to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Wike, who has been accused of being at the middle of the leadership crisis rocking the PDP has also accused Governor Makinde of trying to hijack the opposition political party, saying he would not allow that to happen as one of the foundation members of the party.
But speaking on Tuesday at a media chat in Ibadan the Oyo state capital, the state helmsman said President Tinubu had a meeting with him and Wike, where he requested that they support him for the 2027 election.
He explained that while the FCT Minister agreed to “hold the PDP” for Tinubu, Makinde said he turned down the request, saying he was shocked that Wike made such commitment in spite of being a member of the PDP.
He stressed that Wike is free to support the president in 2027 “but I will not.”
“I was in a meeting with President Tinubu, Nyesom Wike, and others when Wike volunteered to hold the PDP for Tinubu against 2027, and I was in shock,” Makinde said.
The governor claimed that President Tinubu asked him if he could take control of the APC in his state for him. Makinde responded: “I said, no, sir, I can never help you organise the APC in Oyo state because I am of the PDP.
He added that Wike is angry with him because he refused to tow his line of supporting Tinubu’s re-election bid, saying the minister cannot compel him to make his political choice, adding that he took the decision because he wants the survival of the PDP.
His action, Makinde also said is predicated on ensuring that democracy survives in the country.
Makinde: “The real issue is that Wike would like to support the President for 2027. That’s fine; it is within his rights. But some of us want to ensure that democracy survives in Nigeria, and that PDP survives as well. he should allow us to make our own choices.
“I tried to engage him through a mutual friend, but when he did not back off, I confronted him directly. From that day, I made it clear I would never be part of this. Wike can support him, but it is also within my right to decide who I will support or what I will do in 2027. This explains the current conflict within the PDP.”
“It is within his right to do that. But also, it is within my own right to decide within the political space who I will support or what I will do in 2027.
“Some of us want to ensure that democracy survives in Nigeria, we don’t drift into a one-party state. And we want to ensure that PDP survives. It should also allow us to do our own thing,” the governor stated.
In 2023, the magazine recalls, Makinde and Wike were members of the G5 Governors, made up of five PDP governors who refused to support their party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar during the election.
Backed by the G5 Governors, Tinubu defeated Atiku in that historic election.
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