The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has been unilaterally proclaimed the ‘National Leader’ of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by his supporting faction.
The declaration was made on Monday by George Turnah, Secretary of the pro-Wike South-South caucus, during an interview on Channels Television.
Turnah argued that Wike automatically assumes the national leadership position by virtue of being the highest-ranking PDP member currently holding office in the Federal Government.
When questioned about the controversial Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting hosted by Wike at his official residence in Abuja over the weekend, Turnah justified the location by referencing Wike’s new alleged status.
“Is it strange to you that PDP could have their BOT meetings, national caucus meetings, or even NEC meetings in the villa if we have a president of Nigeria? We have the leader of our party who is in the national government and by that he is the national leader of the party. We met at the residence of our national leader, His Excellency, Chief Nyesom Wike,” Turnah stated.
Turnah went on to dismiss the legitimacy of the Kabiru Turaki-aligned mainstream faction, which is backed by several PDP governors and recently held a National Convention in Ibadan.
The factional secretary insisted that the Ibadan convention was fundamentally flawed and illegitimate, claiming that many states did not send verified delegates because they failed to conduct the required congresses.
