A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has revealed the reason he perceives is behind the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike’s reluctance to join the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In an interview with Arise News on Thursday, Momodu said Woke seeks to maintain the level of power and influence he currently wields within the PDP. Momodu stated that Wike would have defected to the APC long ago if he were confident of retaining his power and influence within the ruling party.
Momodu attributed the crisis within the PDP to the APC-led government and Wike. He claimed that Wike’s loss to Atiku Abubakar in the presidential primary election was the beginning of the party’s crisis.
He said, “There are people who lost the primary election in PDP in 2022 who are still sulking and have not recovered from it. The interesting thing is that they have virtually moved to another party, but either they love PDP or hate PDP, they are not able to vacate PDP.
“The crisis started from when the then Governor Wike lost to Atiku Abubakar in the primary and the bid for the running mate. And when I say moved, I’m not talking about physically, but maybe spiritually, he is within the APC today.
“However, he is yet to find the courage to physically join APC because he knows he would not be able to wield the kind of power he wielded in PDP. Right now, where his friends are holding sway, he is empowering them and encouraging them to keep PDP under the water.”
Momodu furthermore alleged that the APC is orchestrating crises within opposition parties, including the Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), to establish a one-party state. He accused President Bola Tinubu’s government of being fearful of opposition and using state power to suppress dissenting voices.
“Nigeria is obviously moving in a direction of a one-party state. The ruling party, APC, is so scared of opposition that right now, crises are being orchestrated from party to party, especially the leading opposition parties like PDP, Labour Party, and NNPP. It’s obvious what is going on.
“If you have a government that is wielding all its state power against the opposition, what will you do? Wike would not be that powerful if he did not have the backing of the ruling government.
“Even Tinubu knows that. The tragedy of it for me is that I have never envisaged a day when Nigeria will come under a civilian administration that will make it very difficult for opposition to thrive,” he said.
