The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is bracing for a major showdown with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as prominent party leader, Chief Olabode George, declared that the era of tolerance is over and a decisive step will be taken against him.
George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, said the party had exercised patience for too long, giving Wike and his loyalists ample opportunity to retrace their steps. According to him, the last National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting granted Wike’s camp time to reconcile, but that window has now closed.
His declaration came after a Southern Zoning Consultative Meeting in Lagos, attended by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, and other stakeholders. The meeting resolved on zoning matters ahead of the party’s NEC meeting scheduled for Monday, where decisions on convention, reconciliation, and discipline are expected to be finalized.
Wike, however, has been a thorn in the flesh of the opposition party, openly questioning the legality of the planned November national convention in Ibadan. He alleged that the NEC did not follow due process in giving proper notice and dismissed resolutions as illegitimate.
Reacting, PDP Deputy Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, accused Wike of running an oppositional campaign within the party, warning that continued disloyalty would attract sanctions. Governor Makinde also hit back, insisting that no individual, no matter how powerful, can derail the PDP’s convention plans.
But cracks are already deepening in the Southern bloc of the PDP. While the Lagos meeting took strong positions on zoning, Wike’s loyalists dismissed its outcome as exclusionary and illegal, stressing that only statutory party organs can make binding decisions.
With tensions rising and the NEC meeting imminent, all eyes are now on the PDP leadership to see whether it will finally wield the big stick against Wike or once again opt for reconciliation.