Former Rivers State governor and Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has described Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde as frustrated amid the internal crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which continues to deepen.

Wike dismissed claims that he met privately with President Bola Tinubu and promised to undermine the opposition party on his behalf, questioning the motive and timing of the allegation.

“First of all, you ask yourself, what was that meeting? What was the purpose of that meeting? That would have led me to say, Mr President, I will hold PDP down for you,” Wike said.

He queried why Makinde, if the allegation were true, failed to raise the issue earlier within the party.
“Why did Seyi Makinde not come up all this while to tell the party, see what Wike is doing? I was in a meeting. I saw what Wike said. It’s not correct,” he added.

Setting the record straight, Wike said no such private meeting ever took place, explaining that the visit to the president occurred after the general elections and involved several PDP leaders.

“There was no such meeting. Rather, my humble self, the former governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, the former governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, the former governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and Seyi Makinde, went to see the president,” he said.

According to Wike, the visit was informal and centred on post-election discussions, not a pre-arranged political deal.

“We went to see the president after elections were over, to discuss certain things. While we were there, the Chief of Staff — you should know that the Chief of Staff is always around the president,” he explained.

He said he personally invited the Chief of Staff to join the discussion to help remind the president of earlier points raised.

“I was the one who said, look, Chief of Staff, come and sit down, so we can remind the president of what we have discussed. There was nothing like a meeting we booked to go and see Mr President,” Wike said.

He insisted it was “completely out of place” for anyone to claim he pledged to weaken the PDP during the visit.

Describing the allegation as “very, totally unfair,” Wike said Makinde’s actions were driven by frustration.

“I have told everybody, frustration — if you can see it, if you watch Seyi Makinde, you can see frustration. And this young man, we have advised severely,” he said.

Wike also criticised Makinde’s political approach, stressing that ambition must be guided by established political norms.

“Politics is not like being a contractor with Shell. Politics is not like being a contractor. It has different rules,” he said.

“When did Seyi Makinde come into politics? There is nothing wrong with having ambition, but the ambition must be pursued according to the rules,” Wike added.