A leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Adetokunbo Pearse, has alleged that former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, once demanded that the party should not field a presidential candidate and instead allow President Bola Tinubu to run unopposed.

Pearse made the claim while speaking on Breakfast Central on News Central TV, amid the deepening crisis within the PDP, particularly following the appointment of Tanimu Turaki as interim chairman by a faction loyal to Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde.

He said: “This Wike and co, so anxious for reconciliation, it shows you that they know that they don’t have a say anymore. “We tried to reconcile many times. And Wike said to us, the only way I will reconcile with you is if you do not field the presidential candidate and you leave Tinubu to be the only one running.”

Pearse described the alleged demand as a threat to Nigeria’s democracy, warning that it would deny citizens the right to choose their leaders.

He added: “Come on, this man is a danger to democracy in this country. “And what that means is that Nigerians don’t have a choice of who they will elect, either as president or senator or whatever, if they only have a PC.”