The minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said that Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s presidential ambition is “dead on arrival.”
Wike made the statement on Thursday while speaking with journalists during an inspection of road construction in Abuja, just hours after the Oyo governor proclaimed his presidential ambition in Ibadan.
During his speech at the combined mega-rally of the PDP and APM, Makinde declared that the country’s position has “continued to deteriorate, putting the majority of Nigerians on survival mode daily.”
The governor further stated that government personnel in charge of citizens’ welfare had abdicated their responsibilities.
In reaction, Wike dismissed claims of a political alliance between the Peoples Democratic Party and the Allied Peoples Movement, describing the arrangement as a “fraud.”
“That’s the 419 we are talking about. INEC also knows that there is no such thing as a PDP-APM alliance,” he said.
The minister also accused some opposition politicians of misleading Nigerians by claiming a formal agreement or memorandum of understanding between the two parties.
Wike emphasized that the Independent National Electoral Commission has no record of such an agreement and that the PDP will continue to conduct its electoral preparations independently.
“The screening of aspirants by the Abdulrahman Mohammed PDP faction clearly indicates that the party is independent and not in any alliance,” he said.
He further claimed that the putative agreement was the result of Makinde’s political actions, despite the fact that no such coalition existed.
“What you have is Seyi Makinde joining APM to be able to actualize his presidential ambition, which is already dead on arrival,” Wike said.
Wike emphasized that the PDP would have its own presidential candidate in the 2027 general elections, encouraging Nigerians to reject talk of a merger or partnership.
He also cited Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, adding that no mention of a PDP-APM partnership occurred during his interactions within the party structure.
“It’s unfortunate. We know that has been his game plan, and we would say he cannot fly the flag of PDP,” Wike said of Makinde.
When asked about internal All Progressives Congress issues, Wike declined to comment, stating that it was not his problem.
He also stated that party issues are exclusively internal business.
Earlier during the inspection, Wike expressed satisfaction with the progress of the 13-kilometer Gomani-Yangoji road project, saying it was on track to be inaugurated during President Bola Tinubu’s third anniversary celebrations in June.
He went on to say that the initiative reflects a larger objective of expanding infrastructure outside metropolitan centers into satellite villages in order to prevent rural-urban migration.
“Remember that when we came on board, one of the directives of Mr. President was that we should not concentrate development and provision of infrastructure only in the cities. We must open up all the satellite towns in order to discourage rural-urban migration,” Wike said.
