The battle for control of the national structure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) intensified on Tuesday as a fresh clash erupted between Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over the political structure of the party in Oyo State.
Once close allies under the G-5 bloc during the 2023 general elections, Wike and Makinde now find themselves on opposing sides as the PDP prepares for its rescheduled national convention and as political alignments shift ahead of the 2027 elections.
The renewed confrontation followed Wike’s declaration of interest in the affairs of the Oyo State chapter of the PDP after a meeting of the Rahman Mohammed–led caretaker committee in Abuja on Monday. The committee announced March 29 as the new date for the party’s national convention.
Speaking after the meeting, Wike stated his position plainly. “Let me declare my interest clearly: I am interested in the survival and success of this party. I am also interested in all the happenings in Oyo State PDP,” the minister said.
Makinde responded on Tuesday during the inauguration of the newly constructed PDP Secretariat in Ibadan, where he launched a blistering verbal attack on Wike and reaffirmed his loyalty to the PDP.
Addressing party supporters, Makinde said concerns over the state of the PDP were understandable, but insisted the party was reclaiming its stability.
“We are in Ibadan, the political, administrative and cultural capital of the Yoruba race. In Yorubaland, we say that when a house is peaceful, it is because the illegitimate children in that house have not come of age,” he said.
According to the governor, internal crises within the PDP began after the party lost power at the federal level in 2015.
“The illegitimate children in the PDP grew up in 2015 and practised their illegitimacy for 10 years. But they were expelled in November 2025. There are no more vagabonds in the PDP,” Makinde declared.
He explained that the leadership vacuum created after the PDP’s loss of federal power allowed disruptive elements to gain influence within the party.
Makinde also defended his alliance with Wike and other G-5 governors during the 2023 elections, admitting it was a political miscalculation.
“I came into government in 2019 and, towards 2023, I was yoked with them. But I have repented. I am no longer with them. For anyone to want to hold the PDP hostage for another party to remain in power, it is a firm no,” he said.
Expressing confidence in the judiciary, Makinde added that ongoing legal disputes would eventually be resolved in favour of the party.
“If a lie lasts for 20 years, truth will overtake it in one day. I have absolute trust in Nigeria’s judiciary. All these cases will converge, and justice will be served,” he said.
The governor also explained that the newly inaugurated Oyo PDP Secretariat was named after Omokunmi Mustapha in recognition of his role in returning the party to power in the state in 2019.
However, Wike’s camp swiftly fired back. His spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, took to X (formerly Twitter) to issue a sharp rebuttal, mocking Makinde’s remarks.
“He admitted that he was a vagabond and claimed to have repented. Happy repentance to him,” Olayinka wrote, adding that political inconsistency remained Makinde’s defining trait.
Olayinka further accused the Oyo governor of political opportunism, citing his movement across parties when his ambitions were frustrated.
“In 2007, he went to the ANPP after failing to secure the PDP Senate ticket. In 2015, he moved to the SDP after failing to clinch the PDP governorship ticket. Now that this vagabond has been expelled from the PDP and his Ibadan convention nullified by the court, where will he go next?” he queried.
The renewed war of words comes against the backdrop of a Federal High Court ruling in Ibadan, which nullified the PDP convention held on November 16.
The court voided all decisions taken at the convention, including the election of the Kabiru Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) and the expulsion of Wike, former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, and others.
The court further restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the Turaki-led NWC and directed that only a caretaker committee should manage the party pending the conduct of a fresh convention.
Subsequently, the Wike-backed caretaker committee led by Rahman Mohammed convened a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, where March 29 was announced for the PDP’s national convention.
The committee also dissolved the North-West, South-West and Plateau State party structures, announcing that caretaker committees would be appointed to oversee affairs in those zones.
Explaining the decisions, Mohammed said the convention date was adjusted to March 29–30 after careful consideration, adding that consultations were ongoing for the inauguration of a National Convention Planning Committee. “These are the major resolutions reached at today’s meeting,” he said.
