Oyinlola rejects Wike’s leadership, says PDP crisis fuelled by internal forces

Former Osun State Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, has distanced himself from the leadership structure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) associated with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, declaring that the minister is not his leader.

Oyinlola made the declaration on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he also blamed the crisis rocking the opposition party on internal forces working against its unity and revival.

Asked whether Wike was his leader, the former governor said he remained a PDP member but did not recognise the FCT minister as his leader, adding that their political and military backgrounds placed them in different generations.

Oyinlola, a retired general, said Wike qualified to be regarded as his junior, recalling that he was serving as military governor of Lagos State between 1993 and 1996 when the minister was still in school.

On the PDP crisis, the former governor said former President Olusegun Obasanjo had made efforts to rebuild the party but was being frustrated by individuals working against its unity.

“He has tried his best, let me say. But there are too many forces working against the unity of the party,” Oyinlola said, adding that those opposed to the party’s revival were not relenting.

He, however, expressed confidence in the PDP’s ability to recover, arguing that the party still had structures across the country’s 774 local government areas. He said the party could regain its strength if its members resolved their differences.

Oyinlola also distanced himself from the Rainbow Coalition reportedly led by Wike to support President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, saying nobody had invited him to join the group. He had earlier declared support for the APC governorship candidate in Osun State, Bola Oyebamiji, ahead of the 2026 election, citing the crisis within the PDP.