Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, stepped up his criticism of Peoples Democratic Party groups on Wednesday, accusing them of indulging in what he called “fraudulent political arrangements” and ignoring court rulings.
Wike’s remarks follow new conflicts over control of party structures between opposing factions, including those supported by Wike and those associated with Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde.
Following the formation of a caretaker committee allegedly headed by Tanimu Turaki and the Wike-backed PDP’s rejection of what it called an unapproved National Executive Committee meeting, there was controversy.
The group argued that Senator Samuel Anyanwu and Abdulrahman Mohammed were still the recognized party officials and insisted that no legitimate NEC meeting had been called.
It also made reference to the Supreme Court’s decision on April 30 that invalidated the Makinde-backed PDP convention in Ibadan that resulted in the Turaki-led leadership, escalating the party’s legitimacy debate.
Speaking to reporters in Abuja, Wike particularly denounced attempts to create what he described as illegal leadership structures within the PDP, maintaining that only officials recognized by the courts are authorized to legally manage the party’s operations.
He denied that the PDP had any legitimate temporary agreements, claiming that such acts amounted to dishonesty and disrespect for the law.
“When will people cease being dishonest? You cannot pretend to have a valid structure while disobeying court rulings, that is not how democracy operates,” he stated.
The minister warned against what he called parallel and illegal institutions, arguing that only a leadership acknowledged by the courts could legitimately manage the party’s operations.
“You don’t create a leadership structure in your bedroom and refer to it as a national structure, I dare them to open an office anywhere and call it the PDP secretariat. You can tell what is real and what isn’t in this way,” Wike said.
Despite court rulings on the party’s leadership issue, he said that certain party officials were trying to set up what he called an illegal caretaker structure.
“Who should manage the party’s affairs until a legitimate convention is held has been made apparent by the court, you cannot disregard that and begin erecting a different edifice. 419, that is fraud,” he continued.
Wike also voiced alarm about what he called a deterioration in integrity among legal and political actors, charging certain high-ranking individuals with weakening institutions in order to further their own agendas.
“Those who are supposed to enforce the law are the ones attempting to circumvent it, that is our system’s tragedy,” he remarked.
