A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Adedipe Dauda Ewenla, has slammed the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike over his claim that he is committed to the growth of the party.
Ewenla, who serves as PDP Southwest Ex-Officio, described the Minister’s comment that he would “not allow PDP to die,” as laughable.
Speaking via a statement released on Thursday, the PDP stalwart stated that Wike’s conduct over the past two years contradicts any assertion of loyalty to the the party.
Ewenla questioned Wike’s sincerity, noting that the FCT minister had, on several occasions in 2023, 2024 and 2025, publicly declared his intention to work against PDP by helping the All Progressives Congress (APC) win PDP-controlled states, including the FCT, in future elections.
“A man who truly loves his party does not openly campaign for its defeat,” Ewenla said.
He also referenced the controversial sealing of the PDP National Secretariat at Wadata Plaza, Abuja, which was carried out under Wike’s authority as FCT minister over alleged ground rent issues. According to Ewenla, shutting down the party’s national headquarters amounted to an attack on its institutional survival.
“If PDP had no alternative location, what would have happened to the party’s national operations?” he asked.
The PDP chieftain further accused Wike of frustrating PDP governors and party structures, particularly in Rivers State, claiming that such actions weakened the party internally and contributed to defections to the ruling APC.
Ewenla also recalled Wike’s public suggestion that PDP should refrain from fielding a presidential candidate in the next general election and instead endorse President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term, describing the proposal as an attempt to “politically suffocate” the party.
According to Ewenla, Wike’s use of federal power against PDP institutions, particularly the sealing of the party’s secretariat, was incompatible with his claim of wanting to preserve the party.
“Mr. Wike cannot claim love for PDP while actively using state power to weaken it,” he said, adding that only “the politically naive” would accept such contradictions.
He emphasized that Wike has been expelled from the PDP and is free to align with any political party of his choice, but insisted that PDP does not need individuals who seek to turn it into an appendage of the ruling party.
“PDP belongs to its loyal members, not to political opportunists,” Ewenla stated, adding that such actions undermine democracy and are not in the interest of Nigerians.