PDP Chieftain Blames Tinubu for Party Crisis Over Wike’s Appointment

A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Segun Sowunmi, has directly blamed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the ongoing crisis within the opposition party, pointing to the controversial appointment of Nyesom Wike as FCT Minister.

“He has no business appointing our member into his cabinet without talking to us,” Sowunmi stated, adding that while the president might have intended to form a national unity government, the move “disorganised the opposition.”

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Sowunmi contrasted Tinubu’s approach with former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s inclusive strategy, stating, “When Obasanjo wanted to form a government of national unity, he ran to the party, but what did he do? He took one of us and put him in a strategic position, and suddenly, the whole thing is complicated.”

The former Ogun PDP governorship candidate proposed a bold solution: “If he wants our party to be okay, he should sack Wike and return him to PDP, but of course, he is not going to do that.”

Addressing concerns about the party’s future, Sowunmi strongly rejected claims of PDP’s imminent collapse. “A party that did not die when Obasanjo tore his card, a party that did not die when Jonathan stood down, a party that did not die all these years is going to die? PDP dieth not,” he declared.

Sowunmi also defended the PDP’s approach to opposition politics, contrasting it with the APC’s previous tactics. “We are far more mature than them,” he said, arguing that the PDP understands “what it means to protect the territorial integrity and the brand equity of Nigeria.” He criticized the APC’s past opposition strategies, including what he described as “calling people into the streets everyday, shaming the country… demarketing the country, refusing Jonathan to buy arms to fight insecurity.”