Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Friday urged leaders of the faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aligned with him to urgently reach out to members who have defected and rebuild the party’s strength ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The PDP, after months of internal crisis, now faces the task of restoring trust, reuniting its members, and convincing Nigerians that it can still function as a credible opposition in a changing political landscape.
Wike made this call during a visit to the party’s national headquarters, Wadata Plaza, Abuja, where he met with members of the National Working Committee alongside factional National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, and factional National Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed.
“My coming here this morning is to reassure you of my support for the members of the National Working Committee. I’ve come here to pledge my support and my loyalty to all of you.
“I also want to urge you to do what you can to bring back our members who have defected, thinking that the party would no longer come back. Make sure you attract them back into the fold, talk to them, and send a powerful team to interact with them.
“Yes, we had crisis and we have almost come out of the crisis; it is not going to be easy. It requires a lot of hard work, it requires a lot of sacrifice for you to move the party forward,” he said.
Taking a veiled swipe at the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Wike argued that winning elections, not attracting defectors, is what defines a true opposition.
“You cannot become a main opposition party without winning an election. So those who say that they are leading opposition, they have never contested in any election. So, how can they be the leading opposition party?
“They are claiming that people are defecting to their party and that’s how they become the leading opposition. Yet again, they criticise people who are defecting to other parties, that is wrong; but those ones defecting to their own party, that is right,” he added.
He also commended the committee for resuming activities at the party secretariat following a Federal High Court judgment that enabled their return, noting that it shows readiness to restart daily operations.
“That shows that you are ready to kick-start daily activities. Let me also congratulate you for taking that bold initiative,” he said.
In response, Mohammed assured that the new leadership would reposition the party and address past shortcomings.
“We will do everything possible to lead the party to a higher level. PDP has come to stay and under my leadership, we will make sure that we win elective positions in the 2027 general election,” he said.
“We know that a lot of things need to be done at the secretariat, but we took our time to ensure that certain things are done, because a lot of things have been abandoned.
“Some have been taken away by the past national working committee because there is no sincerity in that leadership and they believe that the secretariat belongs to them as individuals. We are going to correct that impression under this new leadership,” Mohammed added.
Also speaking, Anyanwu praised Wike’s support and described his visit as a reflection of humility.
“Today, we can say that in this administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that PDP, through you (Wike), has showcased what we can do. And that’s why the whole country is happy.
“When you chose to come to visit us, I can’t imagine what kind of humility is that,” Anyanwu added.