Former spokesperson of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Kenneth Okonkwo, has alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has effectively ceded its 2027 presidential ticket to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
Okonkwo, who spoke in an interview on Friday, accused the former Rivers State governor of imposing his will on the PDP, often to the detriment of the party’s collective interest.
“You were there when Wike said he would be supporting the presidential candidate of another political party. So where is it?
“He has told you that anything or anybody that goes against whatever he says, he will ignite fire in his state if he is governor. And he has told you that whatever he says is law,” Okonkwo alleged.
The Labour Party chieftain cited Wike’s opposition to the South East’s preference for Udo Okoye as PDP National Secretary. He noted that despite regional insistence, Wike forced through Samuel Anyanwu, who eventually emerged as the party’s scribe.
“In fairness to him, it has been like that. The entire South East said they preferred Udo Okoye as secretary of the political party, and that if it wasn’t given to them, they would leave the PDP. Wike said no, it has to be Samuel Anyanwu. And today, it’s Samuel Anyanwu,” he stated.
He clarified, however, that the Supreme Court’s judgment upholding Anyanwu’s position was not an endorsement of Wike but simply a recognition of the internal autonomy of political parties.
“He maintained that position even before the Supreme Court gave judgment. And what the Supreme Court simply said is that political parties have the right to choose whoever they so wish, and the court has no jurisdiction to interfere,” he explained.
Okonkwo described Wike’s style as crude anti-party behaviour, stressing that the PDP has lost direction under his dominance.
“What about the other things he’s saying? Is it not crude anti-party to say you’re supporting the presidential candidate of another political party in the coming election?
“In 2023, he pretended he had a reason. In 2027, what will be the reason? And he has made it open. So there’s no party like PDP. PDP, by Wike their leader, has already chosen their presidential candidate, and they have zoned the presidential ticket to him, and that’s Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.