Deepening Rift Between Makinde and Wike as PDP Tensions Escalate in Advance of 2025 Convention
According to our sources, the duo were once close allies but now find themselves on opposite sides of the worsening PDP crisis.
Makinde and Wike were pivotal players in the now-defunct G-5 alliance that opposed Atiku Abubakar's 2023 presidential bid, backing President Bola Tinubu instead. However, their relationship has since deteriorated, with Makinde aligning with the PDP national leadership while Wike leads a faction demanding sweeping party reforms.
The parties are divided over crucial matters, particularly the retention of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary. The Wike group, supported by former G-5 members - including Samuel Ortom, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and Okezie Ikpeazu - insists on Anyanwu remaining in office, citing a Supreme Court ruling.
On the contrary, Makinde, along with Governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi and Peter Mbah of Enugu, opposes Anyanwu's reinstatement and backs Sunday Ude-Okoye as the preferred replacement.
Their stance aligns with the party's National Working Committee (NWC), which has scheduled the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting for June 30 and the national convention for August.
Wike's Counter-Offensive
In an apparent bid to assert control, Wike organized a meeting of his loyalists in Abuja on Monday, excluding Makinde. The gathering aimed to demand that the party zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South and recognize Anyanwu as National Secretary.
The meeting's communique stated: "In the spirit of fairness, inclusion, federal character principles, and respect for our party constitution, the party must make an unequivocal announcement, zoning its presidential candidate to the South in the 2027 general election."
The communique also challenged the legitimacy of any NEC or convention meeting not convened by Anyanwu. "Only the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, can issue notices of meetings... All notices not issued by him and actions founded on them... are null and void and of no effect whatsoever."
Wike's faction is reportedly pushing for a postponement of the August convention - a move party insiders claim is aimed at consolidating power before 2027.
PDP Leaders React
Several senior party figures have dismissed the push to delay the convention.
Chief Olabode George, a PDP Board of Trustees member, said the NEC meeting would proceed as planned.
"Nobody owns this party, no matter who the heck you are... These guys (Wike-led group) should calm down. Let the decision come from NEC," George said.
Senator Ibrahim Tsauri, another BoT member and former National Secretary, described Wike's latest actions as evidence of his apparent alignment with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
"Imagine someone who claims to still be in the PDP but intends to support the presidential candidate of the ruling party in 2027 - what could be worse than that?" Tsauri queried.
He added that the party leadership should have expelled Wike long ago: "The constitution already provides for disciplinary action, including expulsion. That should have been done by now."
Former PDP South-West Vice Chairman, Eddy Olafeso, also challenged Wike's interpretation of party rules, particularly regarding Anyanwu's position.
"I don't know exactly where he is getting his interpretations of the Constitution... and the Supreme Court judgment from," he questioned.
However, National Organising Secretary, Capt Umar Bature (retd.), backed Wike's stance, affirming that Anyanwu's recognition is in line with the Supreme Court ruling.
South-West and Bauchi Chapters Distancing Themselves
Reacting to Monday's meeting, Oyo PDP spokesman Michael Ogunsina told The PUNCH the gathering was irrelevant to the PDP's internal affairs.
"The meeting is alien and strange to the structure of our party... It's just Wike and his committee of followers and friends having a gist," Ogunsina asserted.
He added that Governor Makinde was meeting with the PDP reconciliation committee chair, Senator Bukola Saraki, at the same time Wike's group was convening in Abuja.
From Bauchi, the PDP Publicity Secretary, Dayyabu Ciroma, confirmed that any decision on postponing the convention rests with national leadership, not state chapters.
"We don't have the right to deny or grant any recommendations of national affairs," he said to The PUNCH.
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- The power struggle within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has led Governor Seyi Makinde and Minister Nyesom Wike to align with different factions, with Makinde supporting the national leadership and Wike pushing for sweeping party reforms.
- The parties are at odds over the retention of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the PDP's National Secretary, with Wike's faction supporting his reinstatement and Makinde advocating for Sunday Ude-Okoye as the preferred replacement.
- In an effort to assert control, Wike organized a meeting of his loyalists in Abuja, demanding that the party zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South and recognize Anyanwu as National Secretary.
- Wike's faction is reportedly pushing for a postponement of the August convention, a move party insiders claim is aimed at consolidating power before 2027. However, senior party figures like Chief Olabode George and Senator Ibrahim Tsauri have dismissed the push to delay the convention.
- The heated politics within the PDP, party disagreements, and potential alliances with other parties, like the All Progressives Congress (APC), are hot topics in the general news and policy-and-legislation spheres, attracting attention from politicians, journalists, and citizens alike in Naija.
