Wike blasts Makinde over $1 million claim, PDP convention squabble

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister and former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has taken aim at Governor Seyi Makinde, accusing him of hypocrisy over his business success and recalling a long-running dispute over access to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) structures.

Speaking on Monday during a media chat in Port Harcourt, Wike criticised Makinde for highlighting the $1 million he allegedly made as a contractor while Wike was climbing the political ladder. “That time Seyi Makinde made his $1 million, I was the chairman of one of the most important LGAs in this country. I didn’t choose to be a contractor. I chose to have power, and I have the power,” Wike said.

Wike recalled how in 2013 Makinde approached him for control of the Oyo State PDP structure. “I refused and gave it to Teslim Folarin. He went to SDP to run for governor and failed with his $1 million,” Wike said. He added that it was only in 2019 that he agreed to give Makinde access, by which time Wike claimed he had no money but was “grounded in politics,” while Makinde “was going around to look for people to give him structure.”

The FCT Minister also hit back at Makinde over claims that Wike promised to “hold down the PDP” for President Bola Tinubu to win re-election in 2027. “We booked to go and see Mr President… So it’s very unfair for Seyi to say that I told the president I was going to hold down the PDP for him. That never happened,” he said.

On the ongoing PDP crisis, Wike defended the party’s structure, pointing to Supreme Court rulings and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recognition of Samuel Anyanwu as the party’s secretary. He criticised Makinde’s convention in Ibadan, alleging it violated prior agreements to set up a caretaker committee and describing it as a “food-focused” event where attendees went “because they wanted to eat amala.”

Wike also dismissed the convention’s prominent attendees, including Bode George, as irrelevant to the party’s growth. “People like Bode George have nothing to contribute to this party. Has the party ever won in Lagos? He never won for the party in his own state,” he said.

He described Makinde’s comments as “talking out of frustration,” adding that while it is acceptable for Makinde to nurse presidential ambitions, he “doesn’t have the guts to even mention it to those that matter.”