Wike Says He’s Monitoring Oyo PDP Crisis, Insists Legal Battle Is Over

|By Adejumo Adekunle

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has declared that he is closely monitoring developments within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State, stressing that his interest is driven by the need to protect the party’s survival and strength.

Wike made the assertion on Monday in Abuja while addressing delegates at the PDP’s 105th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting. He said his attention to the crisis in the Oyo State chapter stems from his commitment to ensuring the party remains viable after losing power at the federal level.

According to him, his position is neither personal nor factional but centred on the future of the PDP.

“I want to make my interest very clear. I am interested in the survival and success of this party. I am also interested in everything happening in the Oyo State PDP. That is all I am interested in,” Wike said.

The former Rivers State governor also dismissed claims that PDP members were being intimidated, arguing that recent court decisions had rendered such allegations irrelevant.

“Who will intimidate us to the end? Some of us, by the grace of God, do not see what anyone can threaten us with,” he said.

Wike further stated that the legal tussle over the party’s leadership structure in Oyo State had effectively ended, insisting that all parties had no choice but to comply with the court’s decision.

“The legal battle has collapsed. They have no option but to recognise the Caretaker Committee,” he added.

His remarks come amid a deepening rift between him and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, his former ally, with both men now aligned with opposing factions within the PDP.

The crisis escalated in November last year when a faction led by Makinde and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, conducted a national convention that was later nullified by the Federal High Court sitting in Oyo State.