The internal turmoil within Nigeria’s main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), boiled over yesterday as a prominent National Executive Committee (NEC) member, Sule Lamido, made good on his threat to boycott party meetings. His condition? The expulsion of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike and former Benue Governor Samuel Ortom.
Lamido, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, was conspicuously absent from the 99th NEC meeting at Legacy House in Abuja. He has been vocal in his disapproval of the continued presence of Wike, Ortom, and even the embattled National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, who he claims has been rejected by the party’s zonal executive.
While Wike and Anyanwu were not present, Ortom, recently inaugurated as a Board of Trustees (BoT) member, did attend the meeting, arriving with PDP Governors Forum Chairman Bala Mohammed.
Lamido Unloads: “Wike is a Disaster”
Speaking to reporters, Lamido, who is also a PDP BoT member, minced no words, accusing Wike and Ortom of “anti-party activities” during the 2023 general elections.
He particularly blasted FCT Minister Wike, alleging his resolve to dismantle the very platform that propelled him to political prominence. “Here is someone who was honoured by the PDP, brought into relevance by the PDP, and now turns around to fight the very party that made him. Wike is, quite frankly, a disaster,” Lamido declared.
He slammed Wike’s actions as “un-African and un-Nigerian,” particularly referencing the sealing of the PDP secretariat. “To seal the PDP secretariat — a party that produced you, nurtured you — no matter your grievances, no matter your bitterness, it’s like destroying your own home,” he lamented.
Lamido dismissed Wike’s alleged claims of financing the party, likening it to a son demanding control over his mother because he provides for her. He lauded President Tinubu’s intervention in reopening the secretariat, noting the irony that the very person Wike sought to please by undermining his party ultimately intervened against his destructive actions.
Ortom Under Fire for “Disloyalty”
Lamido also took aim at Samuel Ortom, accusing him of publicly endorsing Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi over the PDP’s own candidate in 2023.
“Look at the Board of Trustees (BOT). People like Ortom, who declared support for Peter Obi in 2023, are still members. That’s why I’ve said I will not attend any PDP meeting unless Wike is expelled and people like Ortom are removed from the BOT,” Lamido stated unequivocally. He vowed to remain a PDP member but would not participate in party functions while these individuals hold leadership positions.
Recalling a time when party discipline was supreme, Lamido, who served as National Secretary of the defunct Social Democratic Party, expressed deep regret over the current lack of discipline within the PDP. “Today, people openly working against the PDP are still being tolerated. Someone like Wike, who claims to love the PDP but is clearly undermining it, should be expelled by the NWC. Why hasn’t that happened?” he questioned.
The latest development underscores the deep-seated divisions plaguing the PDP, raising questions about its unity and effectiveness as Nigeria’s main opposition party.
