Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has flatly denied claims by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde that he promised President Bola Tinubu to “hold PDP” ahead of the 2027 general election, describing the allegation as a “blatant lie”.
Wike’s response is to Makinde’s earlier media chat in which the Oyo governor alleged that the minister openly declared his intention to politically secure the Peoples Democratic Party for President Tinubu during a private meeting attended by the president and his chief of staff.
Reacting during his own media engagement, Wike rejected the account entirely.
“That’s the blatant lie,” Wike said.
He questioned the logic and context of the alleged statement, insisting no such declaration was made.
“First of all, you ask yourself, what was that for? What was the purpose of that meeting that would have led me to say, Mr. President, I will hold PDP for you?” he said.
Wike also challenged Makinde’s credibility, claiming the Oyo governor’s version of events was inconsistent with reality.
“There was no such meeting,” he said. “Rather, my humble self, the former governor of Benue State, Ortom, the former governor of Abia State, Ikpeazu, the former governor of Enugu State, Ugwuanyi and Seyi Makinde, we went to see the president.”
According to Wike, the meeting involved members of the G5 governors and took place after the elections to discuss general political issues, not party manipulation.
“We went to see the president to discuss. Of course, elections were over,” he said.
He added that the presence of the president’s chief of staff was routine and did not amount to a separate political meeting.
Wike described Makinde’s allegation as unfair and politically motivated.
“It is completely out of place for anybody to say that in that meeting, I said to Mr. President, I will hold PDP for you,” he said. “That’s very unfair. Very, very unfair.”
He went further to accuse Makinde of acting out of frustration and personal ambition, linking him to the internal crisis rocking the PDP.
“If you can see in that media chat with Seyi Makinde, you can see frustration,” Wike said.
Wike also blamed Makinde for legal actions that deepened divisions within the party.
“How did the PDP enter this crisis? It is Seyi Makinde’s ambition,” he said.
The FCT minister insisted that party leaders had agreed to allow internal mechanisms to resolve disputes, accusing Makinde of defying consensus.
“We all agreed for the party to move on,” Wike said. “He refused and went to the Supreme Court. When he went to the Supreme Court, he lost.”
Wike maintained that official party records still recognise Senator Sam Anyanwu as PDP national secretary, citing the electoral commission.
“INEC told them, listen, as far as we are concerned, in our system, the Secretary of PDP is Senator Sam Anyanwu,” he said.
The sharp exchange follows Makinde’s public declaration that he would not support President Tinubu in 2027, citing concerns about opposition survival and democratic balance. Wike, however, insists he never offered to undermine the PDP and says the claims attributed to him were never made.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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