A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Segun Sowunmi, has blamed the ongoing crisis within the party on President Bola Tinubu’s decision to appoint Nyesom Wike as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Sowunmi criticized Tinubu’s move, describing it as a disruption to the opposition party.
“President Tinubu has no business appointing our member into his cabinet without consulting us. He had no business taking Nyesom Wike from our party and appointing him,” Sowunmi said.
The former PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State argued that Tinubu’s approach contrasts with that of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who engaged opposition parties when forming a government of national unity.
“When Obasanjo wanted to form a government of national unity, he ran to the party,” Sowunmi explained. “But what did Tinubu do? He took one of us, put him in a strategic position, and now the whole thing is complicated.”
Sowunmi suggested that resolving the crisis would require Wike’s removal from Tinubu’s cabinet and his return to the PDP, though he acknowledged that such a move was unlikely.
Despite the challenges, Sowunmi dismissed claims that the PDP is nearing collapse, asserting that the party has survived numerous upheavals in the past.
“PDP is this, PDP is that; who killed it? A party that did not die when Obasanjo tore his card, a party that did not die when Jonathan stood down, a party that did not die all these years is going to die? PDP dieth not,” he declared.
The remarks underscore the growing tensions within Nigeria’s main opposition party as it grapples with internal divisions and external influences.
