• Accuses Amaechi, opposition of double standards over Electoral Act 
• Turaki faction disowns congress reports, alleges APC-backed plot

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, insists he would again work for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027, insisting that his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), appears not to have learnt from past political decisions.
 
Wike made the remarks during a media parley in Abuja, yesterday, where he defended his continued support for Tinubu and candidates aligned with the President.
 
Meanwhile, the National Chairman, Kabiru Turaki, alongside members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), yesterday, held a high-level virtual consultative meeting with chairmen of the party’s 36 state chapters and the FCT.
 
At the meeting, the party distanced itself from reports of impending party congresses across the country, describing the claims as fabricated and politically motivated.
 
According to Wike, the position was neither new nor unexpected, noting that he had publicly declared his support for Tinubu before the 2023 general election.
  
“I told you in 2023 that even as a PDP man, I was going to work for [Tinubu]. That is what I did because I believe, and rightly so, that the other parties did not present serious candidates,” Wike said.
 
The minister maintained that his political stance remained unchanged ahead of the next election cycle.
 
Wike also took a swipe at the opposition, insisting that his party, the PDP, failed to learn from past political outcomes.
 
According to him, the PDP “appeared not to have learnt”, stressing that his continued alignment with the President was driven by the quality of leadership and political choices available.
 
He also criticiseda former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and other opposition figures, accusing them of hypocrisy over the debate surrounding electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act.
 
He alleged that Amaechi had previously advised former President Muhammadu Buhari not to approve the electronic transmission provision when they were both in government.
  
“Remember, under Buhari, the issue of electronic transmission came. People like Amaechi, who were in government, said, ‘No, don’t sign; if you sign, you lose the election. ’ This is the same person now coming out in public to say there should be electronic transmission, but he refused simply because he felt his boss would be affected,” Wike said.

THE PDP meeting is part of efforts to modernise the party’s operations and expand its grassroots reach in line with the provisions of the new Electoral Act.
 
The consultation came ahead of the official launch of the PDP’s e-registration process, which the party leadership says is aimed at strengthening internal structures and improving membership documentation nationwide.
 
In a statement yesterday, Turaki maintained that no congresses were being organised under his leadership, alleging that expelled party members aligned with the All Progressives Congress (APC) were behind the misinformation.
 
Turaki further accused the affected individuals of trading the party’s future for personal advantage, alleging that some had “mortgaged the fate of our party to the President and the APC, in return for political appointments and other favours.”

He stressed that the party would not “surrender” its structure to actors seeking rapprochement with the ruling party, citing the FCT area council elections as an illustration of “unacceptable compromise”.
 
Turaki said: “This disposition is obviously against the principles of multiparty democracy, which is the best option for a heterogeneous and pluralistic society like ours.”