In a recent interview on Channels Television’s ‘Political Paradigm’ programme, Dele Momodu, the Director of Strategic Communications for the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Council, revealed his intention to expel the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) if he had the authority to do so.
Despite his desire to oust Wike from the PDP, Momodu did not object to Wike’s ministerial appointment by President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Momodu made his statement in response to a question about Wike’s position in the party, stating, “I don’t have the power, if I had the power, I would have fired him (Wike) long ago.”
Wike had previously challenged his own party, the PDP, daring them to take disciplinary actions against him, including suspension or expulsion. He claimed that he had not encountered a party leader with the authority to take such actions against him and insisted that he was working for President Bola Tinubu, rather than the APC.
When asked about his reasoning for wanting to expel Wike from the PDP, Momodu argued, “Such an unruly person who wants to destroy our party? One individual cannot hold everybody to ransom. If we fought the military, Tinubu was part of those who fought the military in this country, and then, you will now allow a civilian dictatorship?”
The rift within the PDP has intensified in the run-up to the 2023 elections, with Wike and four other former governors, collectively known as the G-5 within the party, withdrawing their support for the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, due to disagreements over power-sharing within the PDP.
