The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has cautioned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against attempts to reintegrate former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, warning that such a move could lead to the party’s self-destruction.
Speaking during a media interaction on Monday, Wike argued that the PDP had failed to learn lessons from its losses in the 2023 general elections.
He criticised past decisions to allow both the party’s presidential candidate and national chairman to hail from the North, describing the arrangement as politically imprudent.
“From day one, I told my colleagues, PDP, you are shooting yourself in the foot. You cannot have both the presidential candidate and the national chairman from the same region,” Wike said.
The former Rivers State governor also accused the party of ignoring calls for fairness and balance, claiming these missteps contributed to its electoral defeat.
“It is better now you have stolen the presidential ticket—and again the national chairman. I said it would purge you. And indeed, it did,” he added.
Wike emphasised the need for the presidency to rotate to the South as a matter of political equity and stability.
He also dismissed speculation about Obi returning to the PDP, describing the prospect as “dangerous and hypocritical.”
“To what end? Bringing Obi back? He spent time criticising the party, labelling it as rotten. Are we to assume it is now good enough? Ambition can drive people to the most unlikely places,” he said.
The minister argued that such a decision would undermine the PDP’s credibility and erode its ideological foundation.
He reiterated his long-standing position that equity, justice, and adherence to zoning principles remain essential for the party to regain national relevance.
