Abuja, December 8, 2025 – Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared that no one can expel him from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisting he has been a member since the party’s formation in 1998 and has made immense contributions to its growth and successes.
Speaking at a crucial meeting of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Executive Council (NEC) held over the weekend at his residence in Abuja, Wike directly responded to an expulsion notice issued against him by the faction loyal to Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde.
Presided over by Acting National Chairman Ambassador Abdulrahman Mohammed, the gathering was attended by prominent party figures including former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Uche Nwuche, National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and BoT members from across the federation and the FCT.
Wike did not mince words: “How can those who met me in my house now drag me out? I will never allow it. Ask Bala Mohammed which party he ran under as a senator. Our party has always believed that people who come in can become governors and senators. They now think they can chase away those who made sacrifices from the inception and formation of the party. If others allowed it before, we will not allow it.”
He warned that he would not stand by and watch late entrants destroy the party he helped build, declaring, “I will not allow those who met me in the PDP to kill the party.”
The minister urged party stakeholders to remain resolute, asserting that those who do not mean well for the PDP are already on their way out.
The meeting reaffirmed full support for the National Working Committee led by Acting Chairman Abdulrahman Mohammed and National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu. It also focused on restoring stability, reconciling aggrieved members, and ensuring compliance with court orders, including the conduct of fresh congresses in states where previous exercises were nullified.
The current crisis exploded after a controversial national convention held in Ibadan on November 16, 2025, which Wike’s faction boycotted. That convention, chaired by the Bala Mohammed–Seyi Makinde group, expelled Wike, former Ekiti Governor Ayo Fayose, and several others for alleged anti-party activities and disobedience to court orders.
In immediate retaliation, Wike’s faction, which retains physical control of the PDP national secretariat in Wadata Plaza, Abuja, held its own NEC meeting on November 18 and expelled Governors Bala Mohammed, Seyi Makinde, Dauda Lawal of Zamfara, former Akwa Ibom Governor Udom Emmanuel, former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, Chief Bode George, and others. It also dissolved the party structures in Oyo, Bauchi, Ekiti, Zamfara, Edo, and Lagos states.
Both sides now operate parallel national executives and claim legitimacy, creating two competing PDPs in the eyes of members and the public.
Wike’s camp insists that the Ibadan convention violated multiple court orders that restrained the party from proceeding without first conducting valid state congresses. They brand the rival leadership as impostors.
On the other side, spokespersons for the Bala Mohammed–Makinde faction maintain that their convention was lawful and that Wike’s expulsion remains valid and has been communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The police have been forced to intervene on several occasions, including the use of tear gas to disperse rival groups attempting to hold meetings at the national secretariat.
The roots of the conflict trace back to the 2023 presidential primaries, when Wike and his allies demanded that power shift to the South after eight years of northern presidency under Muhammadu Buhari. Their opposition to Atiku Abubakar’s candidacy, combined with Wike’s subsequent acceptance of a ministerial appointment under President Bola Tinubu, deepened the rift.
As Nigeria moves toward the 2027 general elections, the prolonged leadership crisis threatens to weaken the PDP irreparably. The party currently controls only a handful of states and risks further fragmentation if the impasse continues.
Elder statesmen, including South-South leader Chief Edwin Clark, have called for genuine reconciliation, warning that personal ambitions could hand the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) an easy path to another term.
For now, Nyesom Wike remains defiant. Backed by loyal governors, former governors, and a significant section of the BoT and NEC, he has made it clear that he considers himself indispensable to the PDP’s survival and will fight to protect what he describes as the legacy of the party’s founding members.
Whether this standoff ends in reconciliation, a definitive court ruling, or a permanent split remains uncertain. What is clear is that Nigeria’s main opposition party is in its most perilous moment since its formation 27 years ago.
