Nigerians seem unconvinced that the closure of the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not political witch-hunt, writes ONYEKACHI EZE
The sealing of the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday, May 26 by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is the climax of the face-off between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike and his party.
Though the agency denied that the action was a political witch-hunt, the timing and events preceding it point to the contrary. Many Nigerians believe that vengeance has even been imputed into it, given the fact that the FCT Minister has not forgiven his party for denying him the vice-presidential slot in 2023.
Wike’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Lere Olayinka, had defended the FCTA’s action, and blamed PDP’s failure to pay ground rent of N7.6 million.
Said Olayinka, “We are not here for politics. If you are talking about a political witch-hunt, we have been to Ibro Hotels, we have been to Access Bank, we have been to FIRS, we have been to Total Petrol Station, and tomorrow we will go to other places.
“This exercise will continue as long as we are able to conclude taking possession of those over 4,000 properties.”
But the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FRIS) , where the FCTA enforcement officials first sealed before going to PDP, denied owing ground rent. The service in a statement on X, by Technical Assistant on Broadcast Media to the Executive Chairman, Arabirin Aderonke Atoyebi described the closure as “malicious” and “unprofessional.”
FIRS accused the FCTA of attempting to use it as a scapegoat, adding, “If you are looking for a fall guy, please move further. We shouldn’t be your scapegoat when you know well that the lies you spread in the media and your malicious/illegal action will hurt our operations.”
The rush to seal FIRS was to give impression that the action was not politically motivated. But many people believe the target was PDP, to settle scores.
Those who hold this view noted that few days before the closure, Wike announced that he was pulling out of the PDP reconciliation process over alleged breach of agreement. He accused Oyo State governor Seyi Makinde and his Enugu State counterpart, Peter Mbah of reneging on an earlier agreement.
Again, the action of the FCTA came a day to the PDP’s scheduled National Executive Committee (NEC). As a matter of fact, the closure disrupted the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting, which was to hold Monday afternoon preparatory to the NEC meeting. The BoT meeting has not been held since then.
Wike who had served as local government Chairman, twice on PDP platform; Chief of Staff to Rivers State PDP governor; Minister in a PDP government, and two-time elected PDP governor, has an axe to grind with the party over his loss of the 2022 presidential ticket and his rejection as running mate to PDP 2023 presidential candidate. Since then, he has been a pain in the neck of the party.
Former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode George, described the sealing of the party’s national secretariat by the FCTA under Wike as “sacrilegious, unacceptable, and culturally inadmissible.”
George who sided with Wike when he worked against PDP in the 2023 presidential election, accused the former Rivers State governor of betraying the party that built his political career.
He added: It’s like going back to your village and your family house hasn’t paid some ground rent, and you, as the local government chairman, lock it up. How much were we owing? Seven million naira—which you could easily pay.
“I want to challenge him that they should go and check that the property being used by APC at their headquarters in Abuja, could probably be the same thing. People could be careless. It is not a monumental amount of money.”
Former Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, said Wike is an ingrate. Said Lamido, “Here is someone who was honoured by the PDP, brought into relevance by the PDP, and now turns around to fight the very party that made him. Wike is, quite frankly, a disaster. What he has done is un-African and un-Nigerian.
“I don’t understand how someone, simply because of his own ambition, can take things so personally and act so destructively. There used to be a party culture that prioritised collective good — something altruistic — but that seems lost now.
“To seal the PDP secretariat – a party that produced you, nurtured you – no matter your grievances, no matter your bitterness, it’s like destroying your own home. He claims he financed the party.
“But is it wrong for a son to take care of his own mother? Does it now mean the mother must submit to the son and take orders from him simply because he’s providing her clothing?
“Wike is thinking in a very warped way. He lacks the values and traditions that define our political culture,” Lamido said.
The former governor said he will not attend PDP meetings again until Wike and former Benue State governor Samuel Ortom, are expelled from the party for working against the PDP candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
“I remain a PDP member, but I will not participate in party functions or answer calls to meetings while these individuals remain in leadership,” he stated.
Apart from the Wadata Plaza in Wuse, the party’s new secretariat in Central Business Area, Abuja, which is still under construction, is also marked for revocation.
It sounds ridiculous that the PDP national secretariat, which it has been occupying for over 20 years, was sealed for mere N7.6 million ground rent.
The status of the building is not so clear. One version said PDP bought the property from the owner when the party was in government. But the FCTA said the property belongs to one Senator Samaila Mamman Kofi, and that PDP is merely a tenant. PDP National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba was not available to clarify the information. He could not respond to calls put to his telephone.
When the threat to revoke the Right of Occupancy on the party’s properties was issued in March, Ologunagba said it was politically motivated, and it “is aimed at stifling opposition … and is a clear drive towards totalitarianism. This is a direct threat to democracy.”
The timing of the possession has proved that. Also, more than two days after President Bola Tinubu ordered for the unsealing, the PDP national secretariat was still under lock and key.
There have been allegations that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is stoking a crisis in opposition political parties to pave the way for President Trump’s reelection in 2027. Specifically, Wike who is serving in the APC’s led Federal Government is holding the main opposition party, PDP down so that Tinubu’s second term would be a smooth sail.
An APC chieftain Farouk Adamu Aliyu, admitted that the party is responsible for the crisis in opposition parties to destabilise them ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“To some extent, yes, we are. Yes, we are. Of course. We will not sit by and allow them to dethrone us. We will keep putting sand inside their garri. If they are able to take the sand, they can come and fight us. But as of now, honestly, there is no viable opposition in the country that can defeat us,” he said.
Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Senator Bala Mohamed, said the ruling APC has set so many booby traps, innuendos and political movements, have been placed on their path.
“We have been bombarded by the issue of coalition, defection, a gale of defection that is even affecting some of our members. “Nigeria’s major opposition parties – the PDP and the Labour Party (LP) – are engulfed in serious internal crises, some of which have been attributed to infiltration by external forces. The sealing of the PDP national secretariat on the eve of its NEC meeting was part of the orchestrated plan to put the party in disarray.
“There is no intimidation that we are not going through. There is no caressing or cajoling that members and elected governors are not going through, if you ask anyone of them. But certainly, we are resolute. We will not abandon the mandate.
“Other parties have been penetrated. They have factions here and there and they have members in the National Assembly; some even have governors (who have defected to APC). But certainly, you would give it to us that we are united together. We have been holding meetings in various states.
“The governors are united. We are ready to work. No amount of intimidation or exclusion by the federal government will make us give in. And we are ready to tolerate and swallow all the melancholy, all the abuses that we will get.”
The action is reminiscent of what happened to the Lagos secretariat of the PDP a couple of years back, when the state government moved for its relocation from Adekunle Fajuyi GRA Ikeja. After months of hanky panky, a court action which seemed to have the imprimatur of the state government was obtained to 132b Agege Motor Road, Old Abeokuta Road, next to Total Filling Station, Zik Bus Stop.”
