Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), has warned governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against sidelining him.
Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja on Friday, Wike claimed he was being sidelined despite his long-standing influence within the PDP.
The FCT minister also warned that excluding him from key party decisions could lead to the collapse of the party.
“Right from day one, I’ve said it that with what is going on, if it continues, PDP will continue to lose. Things are not done properly and we will regret it. And that’s what it is today,” Wike said.
“Have I not said it before now that the trap you are setting will consume you? The way these present governors are doing, they will bury this party.”
The former Rivers governor also questioned why his exclusion was justified simply because he is no longer a governor.
“I am the FCT Minister. Are you telling me that because I am not a governor, you will hold a PDP stakeholders’ meeting and exclude me, and then expect the party to survive?” Wike asked.
“Assuming I am not a minister, by the role I have played in the PDP till now, is it right to say I cannot be consulted in taking decisions of the party? Certainly not.”
The minister refuted claims that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is responsible for the PDP’s internal crises, insisting the party’s problems are self-inflicted.
“All these talks about APC are rubbish. Is it APC that makes you take wrong decisions?,” he said.
“You mean two or three people, because they are governors and receive large allocations, will go and decide, and you tell me to follow? Follow who?”
On the party’s planned national convention, Wike said the leadership failed to complete necessary congresses and other processes, which he said were stalling progress.
“If they do the right thing, will anybody stall the convention? They have not done the congresses and other things that should be in place,” he said.
“When we are governors, why was it that no governor left? You see that we didn’t have problems?
“We fought to the chairman of the party. We’ve gone to the Supreme Court. You know that, why is it that people didn’t leave?”
The PDP has faced internal crises and defections in recent months, including top members such as Peter Mbah of Enugu, Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta, and Umo Enoh of Akwa Ibom, while also contending with multiple legal battles ahead of its convention.
