Ministerial list: Expelling Wike from PDP would cripple party - Chieftain cautions

A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe has warned that expelling Nyesom Wike from the party might lead to the exodus of some governors from the party.

Ogunlewe made this known after Wike, a chieftain of the party accepted a ministerial role from President Bola Tinubu.

He told Daily Post in an interview “They know the right thing to do at the right time, even though there is an argument for and against, some people believe that Wike’s acceptance and nomination is not new.

“Another school of thought believes that Wike should resign from the party. It will be very difficult to expel him because there is an adage in Yoruba that says when you beat a mad man you will realise that he has relatives.

“It’s not easy to touch Wike because if you expel him, you will be expelling some PDP governors.

“In PDP now, what we should do is to persuade and resolve all the issues within the party.”

The nomination of Wike for a ministerial position has thrown the largest opposition party into a state of confusion.

Recall that the former Rivers governor has stressed that he would work for the emergence of Bola Tinubu against his party's candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

He was instrumental in the formation of the G-5 Integrity Group, alongside four other then-state governors. The group worked against the PDP during the presidential election.

His nomination as minister is seen to be a reward for that act.

Daily Post reports that party stakeholders met last weekend and the discussion was centered around Wike and other post-election matters.

But the party is said to be in a dilemma in handling Wike, with some stakeholders warning that his case could further destabilize the party.

This came to the fore as the party recently announced Wike as a member of its Campaign Council for the November governorship election in Bayelsa State.