ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s departure from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was inevitable, accusing him of attempting to use the party for personal ambition and insisting that his continued presence in the PDP made such plans impossible.
During an appearance on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, on Monday, Wike said Abubakar’s exit on Monday, July 14, 2025, — when he resigned citing “irreconcilable differences” and a departure from the party’s founding ideals — was expected.
“Atiku has no choice but to leave because he wanted to use the PDP, but knowing that I’m there, he cannot get that platform,” Wike said.
“Those are people who destroyed the party. How many times has he left PDP and returned?”
Abubakar, who has run for president multiple times and contested the 2023 election on the PDP ticket, has long been a dominant figure in opposition politics.
His departure reshaped the party’s internal dynamics at a moment of sustained transition, defections, and leadership strain.
Wike also used the interview to criticise Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, who announced his defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, November 3, 2025.
“Diri has said he has left PDP, and I’m one of the happiest persons today,” Wike said.
“The same him and Makinde said they would not allow anybody to destroy the PDP and fall to the gutter. Who has entered the gutter today?”
He accused Diri of inconsistency, saying the governor once portrayed others as “undertakers” seeking to bury the PDP but has now crossed over to the APC himself.
“If I heard what he said, he claimed that some people came into the party as undertakers,” Wike said.
“I didn’t just come into the party; I have been a bona fide member since 1998.”
The minister underscored his long political track record — from local government chairman to two-term governor of Rivers State — and suggested that Diri had previously cast him as disloyal.
“When Diri was in PDP, he was one of those who said I was working for APC to destroy PDP,” Wike said.
“He was the chairman of the zoning committee of the party.”
In a pointed remark, Wike said Diri should acknowledge his influence.
“If he were to say I am working with APC, Diri should come to me and say, ‘Thank you, master,’” Wike said.
“He should pay me and say, ‘Thank you for opening my eyes to see the light,’ if he were true.”
Wike defended his loyalty to the PDP, despite serving in a federal administration led by the APC.
“When I was a governor under Buhari, everything was done to kill PDP, but I said no way — I fought,” he said.
“Leadership is key to everything you are doing. Everybody wants to make excuses. The man they claimed is killing PDP is still in the PDP.”
