Former Presidential Media Adviser Umar Sani has accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, of deliberately destabilising the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisting that the party’s internal crisis is rooted in resistance to Wike’s influence rather than personal animosity among its leaders.
Umar Sani made the remarks in an interview with ARISE News on Saturday, where he spoke extensively on the deepening rift between Wike and several PDP governors, the party’s leadership tussle, and the broader implications for the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Sani said Wike’s ongoing battles with PDP governors were not personal but stemmed from “the problem of the PDP,” adding that party leaders believed “there is a mole within the party entrenched to destabilise the party.”
“You can’t take people all the time you are in crisis. You are fighting this, you are fighting that,” he said. “The reason why all these things are happening, they don’t have any problem with him, neither does he have any problem with them. But it is the problem of the PDP.”
He argued that tensions escalated after it became clear that Wike would not have influence in the current National Working Committee (NWC).
“This is the first time that the party will make a National Working Committee without him having any single member,” Sani said. “And he believes that the party should have allowed him to have a member. But they felt, no, you cannot eat your cake and have it. You cannot be working for APC and then want to be imposing people on us in the PDP.”
According to him, Wike’s legal challenges to party processes were baseless.
“All those things he is saying, the issues he took to court and so forth, they are just tissues of lies,” Sani said, dismissing claims that the PDP convention was illegitimate.
He explained that the party met constitutional requirements ahead of its convention, noting that congresses were held in the required number of states.
“If you are going to a convention, what is required is two-thirds of the states, and we have two-thirds of the states going to that convention,” he said. “So for him to be trying to delegitimise the convention by saying we had 16 states without congresses is false.”
On allegations by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde that Wike promised to weaken the PDP for President Bola Tinubu in 2027, Sani said he believed Makinde.
“I don’t believe that Governor Makinde will just flagrantly come out to lie against Wike,” he said. “He is not known to be a liar. I can itemise so many lies that Wike has said, and even his denial is a lie. I am confident that Wike said so.”
Sani also weighed in on accusations by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed that Wike was behind alleged harassment by anti-graft agencies, claiming Wike wielded undue influence in Abuja.
“Bala Mohammed responded clearly,” he said. “He said Wike sells land and then bribes institutions. That is what he said.”
He criticised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accusing it of selectively targeting opposition figures.
“This EFCC is a case study in how EFCC should not function,” Sani said. “The only people they go after are the opposition. Once you go back to APC, the matter is shut down. So how can we trust the EFCC?”
Despite the turmoil, Sani expressed confidence that the PDP would overcome its crisis through the courts.
“The Supreme Court has clearly stated that INEC has no business interfering in the internal affairs of political parties,” he said. “What we are waiting for is the superior courts to affirm those judgments. Once they do, the matter is over.”
On the 2027 elections and shifting political alliances, Sani dismissed claims that the PDP was finished, insisting the party would regain momentum once its legal issues were resolved.
“Once the PDP is able to surmount this in good time and the judgment comes, the traffic will shift,” he said. “All routes will now lead to the PDP.”
Reacting to Peter Obi’s move to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Sani said the former Labour Party presidential candidate could still return to the PDP.
“We are still expecting him to come back,” he said. “Once he is denied the ticket there, he has only one option, to come back to the PDP, and when he comes back, we will give him the ticket.”
He maintained that the PDP remained the strongest platform for any serious presidential ambition.
“PDP has the structure, the reach, the followership and the acceptance,” Sani said. “Anywhere you go, people know the PDP.”
Addressing Wike directly, Sani said the former Rivers State governor should leave the party if he believed it would collapse without him.
“As far as we are concerned, we want him to leave,” he said. “Let him leave the party and go to APC. Let him see how we are going to survive. We cannot harbour somebody who is very destructive.”
However, he added that reconciliation was still possible.
“If he realises what he has done is wrong and comes back and says, ‘Please accept me,’ of course we will accept him back,” Sani said. “The issue of the prodigal son.”
Boluwatife Enome
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