The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has warned that the return of the former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) would lead to the party’s collapse.

Wike made this statement while speaking during a media chat on Monday.

Obi, a former member of the PDP, ditched the party for the Labour Party in 2023. There have been speculations of the former Anambra Governor’s possible return to his former party.

While reacting to these speculations, Wike noted that Obi’s return to the PDP would destroy the party.

“To what? Bringing Obi to where? You want to kill the party? Obi, that was abusing the party, saying it is rotten, so the party is now good enough for him? Ambition can make people even go to Satan’s house.

“If you want to destroy this party, dare it—bring Obi. There’s no way he will come back just because of ambition. No more ideology, no longer principle,” said Wike.

The PDP, Nigeria’s ruling party between 1999 and 2015, was relegated to the position of an opposition party when the late former President Muhammadu Buhari won the 2015 Presidential Election.

Political analysts have, however, argued that the PDP is slowly losing the status of a strong opposition party in Nigerian politics following the wave of mass defections of party members to the APC.

According to Wike, the PDP dug its grave. The minister cited the party’s defiance to his advice as the reason for the party’s decline.

Wike said he and some other members had warned the party against allowing both the presidential candidate and the national chairman to come from the northern region of the country.

“From day one, I told my colleagues, PDP, you are shooting yourself. If you allow what is going on to continue, you’ll pay. And what did I say? You cannot have the presidential candidate at the same time as the national chairman of the party.

“It is better now you have stolen the presidential ticket—and again stolen the national chairman. I said it will purge you. And it really purged them. I have no regret for it,” he added.