VIDEO: Wike Declares PDP “Long Dead,” Blames Party’s Collapse on Impunity and Arrogance

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is “long dead,” attributing its decline to internal impunity, arrogance, and a lack of respect for due process among its governors.

Speaking during his monthly media chat in Abuja on Friday, Wike said the ongoing wave of defections from the PDP did not come as a surprise to him, stressing that “everything I warned about has come to pass.”

“Tsunami has been happening. Don’t you see people leaving their parties?” he asked. “I have always said from day one that if things continued the way they were, the PDP would lose. I said it several times—if you don’t do the right thing, you’ll regret it. And that’s what’s happening today.”

Wike, who served as governor of Rivers State for eight years and was a key figure in the PDP before joining President Bola Tinubu’s administration, said it was “embarrassing” that governors who once led the party’s internal affairs were now abandoning it.

“Did I not say that many governors would leave? The governor of Enugu was chairman of the PDP convention committee; Diri of Bayelsa chaired the zoning committee. Even though I knew from the start they were playing games, everything I said has happened,” he stated.

Responding to claims that he contributed to the PDP’s downfall after the 2022 presidential primaries, Wike dismissed the accusation:
“Which house? The house that has died since? When you do the right thing, you get the right result. I told them from the beginning: follow due process. But they said, ‘we are governors.’ Look at the result now. Even after the case went to the Supreme Court, they still couldn’t manage it. I said it would kill the party.”

According to him, the PDP lacks the moral standing to challenge the ruling APC in 2027, saying:
“You’re supposed to put your house in order to take power from the ruling party. But instead, you’re fighting yourselves. All you care about is being governors and insisting that whatever you say must stand, even when it doesn’t help you.”

Tinubu didn’t ban my media chat
Reacting to viral claims that President Bola Tinubu ordered him to suspend his monthly media briefings, Wike described the reports as “laughable.”

“I don’t read all those junks. I’m focused. What we’re doing under the Tinubu administration in the FCT, I owe it to the public to provide updates. I’m not the Federal Government’s spokesperson; I only speak on FCT activities. How will the President stop me from informing the public? It’s my responsibility,” he said.

He also dismissed rumours about his health: “Anybody can fall sick. But I was never sick or flown abroad. That story is false.”

On PDP leadership crisis
Addressing reports that some PDP stakeholders in the North-West had endorsed former minister Tanimu Turaki as the party’s consensus national chairman, Wike denied any involvement.

“So, anything that happens in the West, it’s me. If it happens in the North, it’s me. When you take wrong steps, you achieve nothing,” he said. “Some people think being governors gives them the right to do anything. You hold meetings excluding key leaders and expect unity? You’ll only end up with factions.”

He accused current PDP leaders of hypocrisy for blaming the APC or the Tinubu administration for their internal woes.

“When Buhari was in power, his government did everything to scatter the PDP, but we stood firm. Now, there’s no such pressure, yet they’re destroying the party themselves. Who is pursuing who?” he asked.

Wike insisted that his long-standing contributions to the PDP’s growth cannot be ignored:
“Even if I were not a minister today, the role I played in building the PDP from its formation till now must be acknowledged when decisions are made,” he said.

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