FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has disclosed details of a late-night meeting with Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, saying attempts to resolve internal disputes within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) collapsed over disagreements on the party’s convention, zoning arrangements and reconciliation process.
Speaking during a media parley in Abuja on Friday, Wike said the meeting took place at his residence around 11pm after initial contact from the Bauchi governor.
He said Bala Mohammed had requested a meeting, which was later scheduled despite his own official engagements, including receiving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the airport following his return from a foreign trip.
“He said he wanted to see me. I told him I was not in town but I would be around the next day,” Wike said.
“I later called him back as promised, but told him I would be delayed because I was going to the airport to receive Mr President coming back from London.”
According to him, the governor eventually arrived at his residence later that night for discussions on party reconciliation.
“Around 11 o’clock, he came into my house and we started discussing,” he said.
Wike said the discussions quickly ran into disagreement over whether the party should pause reconciliation efforts or proceed with arrangements for its national convention.
“He said, look, can we put off the conversation so I will be able to sit down and discuss. I said no, that would be wrong,” he stated.
The FCT Minister said the disagreement extended to broader issues surrounding the legality and process of the PDP national convention, insisting that the party had already been guided by court rulings and internal committees.
He explained that a reconciliation committee chaired by an elder statesman had been set up to prevent division within the party as the tenure of the National Working Committee expired.
However, he alleged that some stakeholders rejected the committee’s recommendations and proceeded with their own convention, despite court decisions restraining the process.
“The court said do not hold this convention. They set up a committee headed by a respected elder statesman made up of prominent Nigerians,” he said.
“But you refused that advice, went ahead and held your so-called convention.”
Wike further alleged that after the convention, some party actors returned to court seeking validation of the exercise, despite earlier rulings against it.
“After the so-called convention, you went back to the Federal High Court to validate what you were told not to do,” he said.
“Two separate judgments had already stopped the convention.”
He also accused some party officials of inconsistency, claiming they later attempted to join legal proceedings to legitimise the same process they had earlier contested.
Wike said the dispute also extended to negotiations over zoning and party positions, arguing that offices had already been allocated across the six geopolitical zones.
“Positions have been zoned to the six geopolitical zones. What we should do is allow participation first,” he said.
“Then we agree on a unity list before the convention, not personal allocation of offices.”
He added that disagreements emerged over specific positions, including the office of National Secretary, which he said was not negotiable on a personal basis.
“You want the National Secretary position. That is not how party structure works,” Wike said.
The Minister insisted that political negotiations must be guided by fairness, zoning arrangements and collective agreement, rather than individual ambition, stressing that the PDP must resolve its internal divisions to remain politically relevant.
Boluwatife Enome
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