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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

Wike accuses PDP faction of defying court judgments

From The Punch · (4m ago) English Critical tone

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, accused factions within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of defying court judgments.
  • Wike criticized attempts to establish illegitimate leadership structures, particularly a caretaker committee reportedly led by Tanimu Turaki, which he deemed fraudulent.
  • He insisted that only court-recognized authorities can lawfully manage the party's affairs, warning against parallel and unlawful structures.

Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has intensified his verbal assault on factions within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accusing them of blatant disregard for court rulings and engaging in fraudulent political maneuvers. Wike's strong condemnation comes amid escalating disputes between rival camps, notably those aligned with Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Wike's own faction, over control of the party's structures.

When will people stop being fraudulent? You cannot disobey court judgments and then turn around to deceive Nigerians that you have a legitimate structure. That is not how democracy works.

— Nyesom WikeMinister of the Federal Capital Territory, criticizing PDP factions for defying court judgments and creating illegitimate structures.

The crux of the controversy lies in the rejection by the Wike-backed PDP of what it terms an unauthorized National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting and the subsequent announcement of a caretaker committee allegedly headed by Tanimu Turaki. Wike's faction maintains that no valid NEC meeting was convened and that Abdulrahman Mohammed and Senator Samuel Anyanwu remain the legitimate party officials. This stance is further bolstered by a Supreme Court ruling on April 30, which nullified the Makinde-backed PDP convention in Ibadan that had produced the Turaki-led leadership, deepening the legitimacy crisis within the party.

The court has made it clear who should run the affairs of the party pending a lawful convention. You cannot ignore that and start setting up another structure. That is fraud, 419.

— Nyesom WikeMinister of the Federal Capital Territory, accusing PDP factions of illegal actions and fraud.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Wike minced no words, criticizing the establishment of "illegitimate leadership structures" within the PDP. He emphatically stated that only court-sanctioned authorities possess the legal standing to govern the party's affairs. Wike dismissed any claims of a valid interim arrangement, labeling such actions as deceptive and a direct affront to the rule of law. He challenged these factions to openly establish their purported secretariats, asserting that their actions are nothing more than "fraud, 419," and a deliberate attempt to undermine the judiciary for personal gain.

People you expect to uphold the law are the ones trying to bend it.

— Nyesom WikeMinister of the Federal Capital Territory, expressing concern over the decline in integrity among political and legal actors.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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