Wike rallies PDP members against August national convention

Nyesom Wike, minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has met with some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from south-south and south-east in a bid to stop the planned national convention, TheCable understands.

The meeting was held at the official residence of the FCT minister on Monday.

Governors elected on the PDP platform had fixed August 28 for the national convention after holding a meeting in April in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

Members of the national working committee (NWC), responsible for the day-to-day activities of the party, will be elected at the convention.

However, Wike, though a member of the PDP, is an ally of President Bola Tinubu, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He is believed to be holding down the party to boost Tinubu’s re-election chances in 2027.

He is proposing a new date for October, sources at the meeting informed TheCable.

Wike is reportedly losing control of the PDP with the acting national chairman, Umar Damagum, having broken ranks with him.

However, Sam Anyanwu, the national secretary, remains an ally of Wike, who was governor of Rivers state from 2015 to 2023.

“If the convention holds in August as planned, Wike may lose out completely, so the plan is to stall the convention to allow enough time to strategise,” a PDP member told TheCable.