Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday challenged the faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aligned with Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, to open an official party bank account and secretariat if it truly believes it controls the structure of the opposition party.
Wike, who spoke during a live media chat with journalists in Abuja, accused leaders of the rival camp of misleading Nigerians and acting in defiance of court judgments in the protracted leadership crisis rocking the PDP. The former Rivers State governor maintained that the faction opposed to the recognised leadership of the party lacked the legal standing to conduct its affairs.
“You cannot continue to deceive Nigerians. If they are sure they are the authentic leadership of the PDP, let them open an official PDP account and ask party members to pay nomination fees into it,” Wike said.
He specifically challenged former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Turaki (SAN), and other leaders of the camp to test the validity of their claims by opening a bank account in the name of the PDP. “Let Turaki, as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, open an account for the PDP. Let them announce it publicly for members who want to contest elections. That day, you will see what will happen,” he stated.
According to the minister, no bank would recognise such an account because the faction does not possess the legally recognised party structure and documentation required to operate. “That bank will be in trouble because to open such an account, you must provide the party’s authentic documents and recognised leadership. Who has those documents?” he queried.
Wike also warned against any attempt to establish what he described as illegal party offices in the Federal Capital Territory, saying such actions could threaten public peace. “If anybody goes ahead to open an illegal office in the name of the PDP in Abuja, I will seal it. I will not allow any breach of peace because my duty is to maintain law and order in the Federal Capital Territory,” he said.
The minister insisted that court pronouncements had already resolved the dispute over the PDP’s leadership and convention issues, accusing some party actors of twisting judicial decisions to suit political interests. “People should stop deceiving Nigerians. The judgments are clear. You cannot ignore court decisions and begin to create parallel structures,” he added.
He dismissed claims that the Supreme Court ruling favoured the rival faction, insisting that available legal processes and judgments supported the position of the party’s recognised leadership. According to him, attempts to reinterpret judicial pronouncements outside the established legal context were aimed at confusing party members and the wider public.
Wike said he remained a committed member of the PDP and was only defending constitutional order and due process within the party. In a further broadside, the FCT minister described the purported Kabiru Turaki-led interim National Working Committee (NWC) as fraudulent and lacking legitimacy.
“When will people stop being fraudulent? You cannot disobey court judgments and then turn around to deceive Nigerians that you have a legitimate structure. That is not how democracy works,” he said.
He argued that only a court-recognised leadership could validly run the affairs of the party, warning that any parallel arrangement amounted to illegality. “You don’t form a leadership in your bedroom and call it a national structure. Let them open an office anywhere and call it PDP secretariat. I dare them. That is how you know what is real and what is not,” Wike said.
He maintained that ongoing attempts to put in place what he termed an illegal caretaker arrangement were calculated efforts to mislead party faithful and the public. “The court has made it clear who should run the affairs of the party pending a lawful convention. You cannot ignore that and start setting up another structure. That is fraud, 419,” he added.
Wike also lamented what he described as the erosion of integrity among some political actors, including senior lawyers and party leaders, accusing them of undermining institutions for personal gain. “People you expect to uphold the law are the ones trying to bend it. That is the tragedy of our system,” he said.
