The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has lashed out at the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), accusing it of legal ignorance and internal sabotage over the delay in enforcing a Supreme Court ruling affirming Samuel Anyanwu as the party’s National Secretary.
Speaking on Tuesday, Wike took aim at the PDP’s Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, for allegedly seeking the directive of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before effecting the Supreme Court’s judgment. The former Rivers State governor described the move as both legally unnecessary and politically embarrassing.
“I heard it when the acting national chairman of PDP was directing the national secretary to resume. The national secretary is not your appointee. The national secretary has been doing his work. So, you can’t call him to resume,” Wike said.
He emphasised that Anyanwu, having been validly elected, never vacated his position and did not require reappointment or external validation to continue his duties.
“The law does not recognise ignorance. That you’re ignorant of the law is not an excuse,” Wike added, expressing disappointment that party officials would defer to INEC on a matter already settled by the nation’s highest court.
The minister also admonished Damagum for allegedly allowing ego and dependence on party funds to cloud his judgment.
“Continue to shoot yourself. I will not be among those who sabotage themselves. When you don’t know something, ask the right person, not because of ego, not because of monthly allocation. Money does not solve all the problems,” he said.
Meanwhile, Senate President Godswill Akpabio has revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is dismayed by the state of disarray within Nigeria’s major opposition parties. Akpabio made the comment during the inauguration of the Arterial Road N20 Interchange Bridges in Abuja.
He specifically referenced the PDP crisis over the national secretary position and the defection of Senator Neda Imasuen from the Labour Party to the All Progressives Congress (APC), noting that both parties are currently grappling with internal instability.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is interested in seeing a vibrant opposition. As a true democrat, it saddens him when he sees the opposition in disarray,” Akpabio stated.
The Senate President also disclosed that he had formally received Senator Imasuen, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions, into the APC earlier in the day.
“I’m not tired. I’m happy to receive them because our doors are open in the All Progressives Congress. Congratulations to Imasuen, who has decided to leave the fractured Labour Party to join the APC,” Akpabio added.
The comments from both Wike and Akpabio underscore rising tensions and internal divisions within Nigeria’s opposition landscape, even as the ruling APC continues to consolidate its hold on power.
