The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has dismissed claims by Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, that he promised to “hold down” the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for President Bola Tinubu, describing the allegation as a blatant lie.
Wike made the clarification on Monday during his end-of-the-year media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, insisting that no such discussion ever took place between him and President Tinubu.
Reacting to Makinde’s assertion, Wike said the claim was unfair and completely untrue, stressing that at no time did he assure the president of controlling or undermining the PDP on his behalf.
According to Wike, the meeting involving members of the G-5 Integrity Group and President Tinubu was misconstrued. He questioned the logic behind the allegation, asking what would have prompted him to make such a statement to the president.
Wike also faulted Makinde for not raising the issue earlier within the party if such a statement was indeed made, noting that the allegation only surfaced long after the meeting.
He explained that the meeting in question involved himself, former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, former Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and Governor Makinde, adding that they collectively booked an appointment to see the president.
Wike said the visit was to discuss post-election issues and other matters of mutual concern, emphasizing that it was not a formal or secret meeting aimed at political bargaining.
He concluded by reiterating that there was no agreement or promise to undermine the PDP, describing the claim as “very unfair” and completely out of place.
Wike also revealed that when he ran for the PDP’s presidential ticket, Makinde never contributed “N1000.”
He said: “I ran for the presidential primary of the PDP. I didn’t see Seyi use one thousand Naira in my primaries. I did not see it even once.
“Secondly, it’s only in Nigeria that I’ve seen someone awarded a job worth one million dollars, and nobody is talking about it.
“But he came to the man who didn’t have one million dollars to help him get structure. We said no, we will not give it to you. We gave it to Teslim. He went to SDP to run as governor and failed with his one million dollars.
“Then, before 2019, he came back. We said no, we are ready to give you structure. I was very grounded in politics, but I had no one million dollars with me.
“But the man who made one million dollars is going around looking for people to help him build a structure. It was when we gave him that structure that Seyi became governor in 2019.”
