The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction, led by Kabiru Turaki, has dismissed threats by Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to take action against banks that allow it to open accounts for the sale of nomination forms.
On Wednesday, while speaking during his monthly media chat, Wike challenged the Turaki-led group to prove its authenticity by operating transparently.
“Let Turaki, as a senior advocate of Nigeria, open an account for the PDP. Let them announce it publicly for members who want to contest elections. That day, you will see what will happen. He will lose his silk. Any bank that allows them to open an account for the sale of nomination forms will be in trouble,” Wike said.
The minister also threatened to seal off any building used by the group for its operations.
In a statement, Ini Ememobong, spokesperson of the Turaki’s faction, said Wike was already aware that the PDP operates party accounts.
“Today, Nigerians were treated to an unsolicited overdose of political rascality, moral emptiness, crass opportunism, and post-loss trauma by Minister Nyesom Wike,” Ememobong said.
“The minister, a public figure, funded a media convergence where he threw decency to the wind and maligned distinguished Nigerians with reckless abandon. The session was full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
“That show of shame deserves no response; hence, this statement is therefore not a response to his tirade, which is indeed his political swan song and the last kicks of a dying horse.
“This statement is rather a profuse apology to Nigerians for offering a platform to a person whose conduct, speeches, and reasoning have become not just a national but an international disgrace.
“We must acknowledge that if we did not lend our platform to make him a Chairman, Minister of State, and Governor, the nation would have been saved the unmitigated damage done to the psyche of countless Nigerians. We admonish those he has defamed to seek legal redress, as no one is and should be allowed to be above the law.
“As the legitimate leadership of our political party, we sympathise with Wike for the pain concomitant with the realisation that he will not and can never be the National Leader of our party, as no such office exists in our constitution; and even if it did, he, by conduct and speech, would be grossly insufficient to assume such an exalted office.
“We understand his frustration about the commencement of the sale of forms and activities to hold primaries and eventually a national convention where a credible Nigerian will emerge as the Presidential Candidate.
“This will mean that he has failed in his promise to ‘hold down’ the party for his principal. The sale of forms is ongoing, and there is nothing Wike can do about it.
“His delusional boast of dealing with banks that will open accounts for us is delusional, as he is already aware that we are operating accounts of the party, which is why his group of friends are receiving money through private accounts.”
On Monday, the PDP faction backed by Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo, appointed Turaki to lead a 13-member interim national working committee (NWC) following the supreme court ruling that invalidated the national convention held on November 15 and 16, 2025, in Ibadan.
The Makinde camp claims that the supreme court verdict affirmed the suspension of officials elected at the Wike-backed convention held in March.
TheCable
