Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has denied promising President Bola Tinubu to “hold down” the Peoples Democratic Party ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The denial comes amid rising tensions inside the PDP, which erupted last week after Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde accused Wike of promising Tinubu that he would keep the opposition party down for him.
During an end-of-year media talk on Monday, Wike dismissed Makinde’s allegation as a transparent lie, implying that the Oyo State governor was “frustrated” and lacked the nerve to openly declare his presidential ambitions.
“Seyi Makinde has never called me Wike. That is the first time I have heard him calling me Wike. It’s unfortunate.
“First of all, you ask yourself, what was that meeting? What was the purpose of that meeting? That would have led me to say, Mr. President, I will hold PDP down for you.”
The FCT minister queried why, if the allegation were true, Makinde did not raise the issue earlier after the alleged meeting with the president.
“Why did Seyi Makinde not come up all this while to tell the party to see what Wike is doing? I was in a meeting. I saw what Wike said. It’s not correct,” he said.
Setting the record straight, Wike said, “There was no such meeting. Rather, my humble self, the former governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, the former governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, the former governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and Seyi Makinde went to see the president.
“We went to see the president after elections were over, to discuss certain things. While we were there, the Chief of Staff—you should know that the Chief of Staff is always around the president.
“I was the one who said, ‘Look, Chief of Staff, come and sit down so we can remind the president of what we have discussed. There was nothing like a meeting; we booked to go and see Mr. President. So, it is completely out of place for anybody to say that in that meeting I told Mr. President that I would hold PDP down for him.”
Describing Makinde’s claim as “very, totally unfair,” Wike said the Oyo State governor was frustrated.
“I have told everybody, frustration—if you can see it, if you watch Seyi Makinde, you can see frustration. And this young man, we have advised severely.
“Politics is not like being a contractor with Shell. Politics is not like being a contractor. It has different rules.
“When did Seyi Makinde come into politics? There is nothing wrong with having ambition, but the ambition must be pursued according to the rules.”
The dispute arose from Makinde’s disclosures during a media interview last week, in which he described a private 2023 meeting between himself, Wike, and Tinubu.
According to Makinde, Wike voluntarily promised to undermine the PDP to support Tinubu’s re-election campaign, with no encouragement from the president.
“Wike said he was going to hold the PDP down for President Tinubu,” Makinde claimed during a public address, explaining the root of their fallout.
He also expressed regret for supporting Tinubu in the 2023 elections and promised not to endorse him in 2027, citing fears over Nigeria’s democratic future.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
