The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has dismissed as false claims by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde that he pledged to “hold” the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election, describing the allegation as a “blatant lie” and politically unfair.
Wike was reacting to comments credited to Makinde during a media interaction, in which the Oyo governor alleged that the FCT minister made the declaration during a private meeting attended by President Tinubu and his Chief of Staff.
Responding during his own media engagement, Wike categorically denied making such a statement.
“That’s the blatant lie,” Wike said.
He questioned the rationale behind the claim, insisting that no meeting was held for such a purpose and that no such declaration was made.
“First of all, you ask yourself, what was that for? What was the purpose of that meeting that would have led me to say, Mr. President, I will hold PDP for you?” he said.
Wike further challenged the credibility of Makinde’s account, stating that the meeting referenced by the Oyo governor did not occur in the manner described.
“There was no such meeting,” he said. “Rather, my humble self, the former governor of Benue State, Ortom, the former governor of Abia State, Ikpeazu, the former governor of Enugu State, Ugwuanyi and Seyi Makinde, we went to see the president.”
According to the FCT minister, the visit involved members of the G5 governors and took place after the general elections to discuss broad political issues, not to negotiate party control or manipulation.
“We went to see the president to discuss. Of course, elections were over,” he said.
Wike added that the presence of the President’s Chief of Staff at the meeting was routine and did not imply a separate or covert political arrangement.
He described Makinde’s allegation as unfair and politically motivated.
“It is completely out of place for anybody to say that in that meeting, I said to Mr. President, I will hold PDP for you,” he said. “That’s very unfair. Very, very unfair.”
The minister went further to accuse Makinde of acting out of frustration and personal ambition, which he said had contributed significantly to the internal crisis within the PDP.
“If you can see in that media chat with Seyi Makinde, you can see frustration,” Wike said.
He also blamed Makinde for legal actions that deepened divisions in the party.
“How did the PDP enter this crisis? It is Seyi Makinde’s ambition,” he said.
Wike explained that party leaders had earlier agreed to allow internal mechanisms resolve disputes but accused Makinde of breaking that consensus.
“We all agreed for the party to move on,” he said. “He refused and went to the Supreme Court. When he went to the Supreme Court, he lost.”
The FCT minister maintained that official party records still recognise Senator Sam Anyanwu as the PDP National Secretary, citing the position of the electoral commission.
“INEC told them, listen, as far as we are concerned, in our system, the Secretary of PDP is Senator Sam Anyanwu,” he said.
The exchange follows Makinde’s recent declaration that he would not support President Tinubu in 2027, citing concerns about the survival of opposition parties and democratic balance. Wike, however, insisted that he never offered to undermine the PDP and described the claims attributed to him as entirely unfounded.