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Nyesom Wike the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has insisted that he remains a strong member of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) despite threats of expulsion from some chieftains of the party.
Recall that Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers State, fell out with the PDP hierarchy in the run-up to the 2023 presidential election.
He had insisted the party maintain its internal power-sharing formula by zoning the presidential ticket to southern Nigeria. While he backed out from supporting Atiku Abubakar – from northern Nigeria – who won the PDP primary election, the former governor worked for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), leading to the emergence of President Bola Tinubu.
Wike was later appointed as a minister a move that triggered debates on whether Wike is still a member of the PDP. Despite the calls for his expulsion, the FCT minister says he is still a member of the PDP, doubling down on his support for Tinubu – the APC flagbearer for the 2023 election.
Asked where he belongs to between All Progressive Congress or People’s Democratic Party
“I am a member of PDP,” he said during a Thursday media parley with selected journalists in Abuja. “Have you ever seen me change anything?” He said
Although, the former Rivers Governor insists he is a member of the PDP, the FCT minister has been absent from major meetings of the party and has not been seen campaigning for them in the recent off-cycle elections, he does not regret his action.
On why he doesn’t attend PDP meetings Wike said: “The one I supported before, what happened? I have decided to take a break. As you see me now, everybody should carry their cross,” Wike maintained.
“I was in PDP and I did not hide it: I told them I was not going to support their presidential candidate. Is it that I spoke or acted in a way people did not understand?”
He maintains he is an advocate of the rule of law, saying his non-support of the party in the 2023 presidential election was the right step and thus moves for his suspension are uncalled for.