A former Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mark Jacob, has criticised the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, accusing him of trying to control the party’s internal affairs without attending its meetings.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday, Jacob said Wike had not participated in any National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings for over a year, yet continued to project political influence within the party.
Jacob said, “There is no way Wike can sit in the comfort of his bedroom and dictate what happens in the PDP. It’s not going to happen, not with the effort being put in place.”
He stated that the ongoing restructuring within the PDP would make it impossible for Wike to dominate party decisions without active involvement.
Jacob further said, “Personally, I have attended several meetings of the PDP. The NEC meetings I have attended in the last year, yet Wike has not attended any, and so I don’t see the big seat he occupies.
“He has his interest, and he has his supporters scattered left and right in several positions, but he will need to step out and show what he stands for, come to the PDP meeting and convince people about whatever he’s saying.”
The former PDP legal adviser maintained that while Wike had the right to hold political opinions, they could not automatically become party policy.
He said, “He is at liberty to take a position, but that position is going to be interrogated by members of the party, and I want to see how he can force it. Anybody to obey or comply with his own opinion, it’s a difficult thing to undertake.”
Wike, a former governor of Rivers State and now a minister in President Bola Tinubu’s administration, worked against the PDP during the 2023 elections, openly supporting the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
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