The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said he has no regret stopping former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Bode George, from becoming the national chairman of the party.
Wike described George as a failed politician who, despite his long years in the PDP and influence within the party, had been unable to win elections for the opposition party in Lagos State since 1999.
The minister made the statement in a response issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka.
Wike said George’s continued criticism of him was largely driven by his disappointment over his failure to become PDP national chairman.
“His anger is because we didn’t allow him to be PDP National Chairman and no regret doing so,” Wike said.
The minister said George had behaved as though the position of national chairman was his right, but the position was eventually given to another part of the country.
“He wanted to be PDP National Chairman, and was carrying on like the position was his birthright. We stopped him because it was the turn of the South-South. Since then, he has not stopped being angry,” Wike said.
The latest exchange is another sign of the deep divisions that have continued to affect the PDP, which has struggled with internal disagreements and leadership disputes following its defeat in the 2023 presidential election.
Wike, who was the PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar’s major rival for the party’s presidential ticket in 2022, has remained at the centre of the party’s internal crisis.
He was one of the five PDP governors, known as the G5, who demanded the resignation of the party’s then National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, before supporting the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election.
Although Wike did not leave the PDP, he later accepted appointment as a minister in President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government. His political position has since brought him into frequent disagreements with some PDP leaders and members.
In his latest statement, Wike recalled an incident after a PDP national convention when he visited George’s residence in Maitama, Abuja, while he was still governor of Rivers State.
According to him, he went to the former deputy national chairman’s home to appease him following the outcome of the convention.
Wike, however, said he was almost denied access to the house by George’s wife before the intervention of former Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko.
The FCT minister said he had made efforts to maintain a relationship with George despite their political differences.
He, however, accused the former PDP national chairman aspirant of failing to deliver electoral victories for the party in Lagos State despite his long political career and the influence he had enjoyed within the PDP.
“We have managed him even though we know that he has no value. But as it is, since he wants to keep dancing naked in the market place of politics, we can’t but allow him,” Wike said.
The minister argued that political leadership should not be based on a person’s name, age, title or claim to being a founding member of a political party.
According to him, the most important measure of a politician’s strength is the ability to win elections and deliver votes for his party.
Wike said George had failed that test in Lagos State, describing his electoral record as a major weakness.
“Leadership of a political party is not determined by name, title or status as a founding father, but by the ability to win elections,” he said.
He added that, based on that standard, George was “a complete disaster.”
To support his claim, Wike referred to the electoral results from George’s former polling unit, Unit 001, Ward E2, Evans Street, Lagos Island.
He said George had never won even his own polling unit for the PDP.
According to the minister, during the 2019 presidential election, the APC received 84 votes at the polling unit, while the PDP recorded 40 votes.
Wike said the situation became worse for the PDP in 2023 after George transferred his voter’s card to Eti-Osa.
He claimed that the PDP secured only four votes at George’s former polling unit in the 2023 presidential election.
The minister used the figures to question George’s influence within the PDP and his claim to a major leadership role in the party.
Wike also took a swipe at George’s recent political activities, saying the former PDP national chairman aspirant appeared to have enough time to move from one television station to another to attack his political associates.
“Since Bode George appeared not to be busy, he would continue to make his associates busy by giving them reason to move from one television station to another,” Wike said.
George, a founding member and prominent figure in the PDP, has remained active in the party and has frequently commented on its leadership, direction and internal affairs.
The disagreement between him and Wike reflects the wider struggle for control and influence within the PDP as the party prepares for another major political contest in 2027.
The party has been facing calls from different groups for reconciliation and restructuring, with several senior members divided over its leadership, alliances and strategy ahead of the next general election.
Wike and George have previously exchanged criticisms over the direction of the PDP and the role of its senior members. Their latest confrontation is therefore likely to add to the pressure on the party as it seeks to rebuild its structures and regain support across the country.
For Wike, however, the issue remains one of political performance and electoral value.
The minister insisted that political titles and long years in the party should not be used as a substitute for electoral success, maintaining that George’s record in Lagos was enough to justify his position.