Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday, challenged the Tanimu Turaki faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, daring it to open an official party secretariat in Abuja and bank account if they genuinely believed they controlled the opposition party.
He promised to seal any such office the moment it is established in Abuja.
Speaking during a media chat with journalists in Abuja, Wike launched an unsparing attack on the faction led by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, Turaki and others, accusing them of fraud, deliberate defiance of court rulings, and an orchestrated campaign to deceive Nigerians.
“When will people stop being fraudulent? You cannot disobey court judgments and then turn around to deceive Nigerians that you have a legitimate structure. That is not how democracy works,” he said.
The minister, a former Rivers State governor, insisted that the faction opposing the party’s recognised leadership lacked any legal standing to operate the PDP’s affairs, and issued a direct challenge designed to expose what he described as the hollowness of their claims.
“You cannot continue to deceive Nigerians. If they are sure they are the authentic leadership of the PDP, let them open an official PDP account and tell party members to pay nomination fees into it,” Wike said.
He pressed the challenge specifically at Turaki, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN.
“Let Turaki, as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, open an account for the PDP. Let them announce it publicly for members who want to contest elections. That day, you will see what will happen. He will lose his silk,” he stated.
Wike argued that no financial institution would entertain such a request because the rival faction allegedly lacked the authentic party documentation and legally recognised leadership structure required to pass banking due diligence.
“That bank will be in trouble because to open such an account, you must provide the party’s authentic documents and recognised leadership. Who has those documents? Who has the certificate of incorporation? It is the secrecy of the party,” he said.
On the question of a physical office, Wike was equally blunt, turning the dare into an open threat backed by his authority as FCT Minister.
“You don’t form a leadership in your bedroom and call it a national structure. Let them open an office anywhere and call it PDP secretariat — I dare them. That is how you know what is real and what is not.
“If anybody goes ahead to open an illegal office in the name of the PDP in Abuja, I will seal it. I will not allow any breach of peace because my duty is to maintain law and order in the Federal Capital Territory”, he said.
Wike dismissed the rival group’s attempts to constitute what he described as an illegal caretaker arrangement, accusing them of seeking to mislead party members and the wider public even in the face of clear judicial pronouncements.
“The court has made it clear who should run the affairs of the party pending a lawful convention. You cannot ignore that and start setting up another structure. That is fraud, 419.
“People you expect to uphold the law are the ones trying to bend it. That is the tragedy of our system,” he said.
On the Supreme Court ruling that the rival faction has cited in its favour, Wike insisted the legal processes and available decisions supported his position and that of the recognised party leadership. He accused the other side of deliberately misreading judicial pronouncements to confuse members and the public.
Wike also weighed in on the ongoing standoff within the PDP over the Board of Trustees BoT, dismissing the legitimacy of what he described as a self-help move by the Adolphus Wabara-led BoT to name an interim committee, describing it as another layer of the same illegality consuming the party.
Turning to Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Wike said the governor’s decision to seek election was entirely his personal choice, but had laid bare certain realities about his character.
“Nobody can stop you from running for an election. It’s your choice, but you have just exposed yourself,” Wike said.
He accused Fubara of reaching an agreement with other stakeholders at a peace meeting brokered by President Bola Tinubu, only to renege on it the moment the state’s House of Assembly members withdrew their impeachment threat against him.
Wike also addressed the separate controversy over his crackdown on abandoned and poorly developed land around Jabi Lake in Abuja, responding to a viral video in which a popular pastor appealed to him to leave the area alone, describing it as a shared heritage for Nigerians.
The minister was unmoved, insisting that his administration’s actions were strictly guided by law and the Abuja master plan.
“They told us they would build something like what you see in Dubai — a city walk, a proper entertainment centre. But what do you find there today? Shanties. Who will come and stay in such a place?” he queried.
Wike said portions of land around the lake, originally allocated for high-end projects, had sat undeveloped for years and been taken over by makeshift structures.
“For 15 years, nothing happened. We cannot continue like that. If you are not ready to develop, we will take back the land and give it to those who are serious,” he declared.
He disclosed that the FCT Administration had already revoked some of the affected plots, warning that Abuja would no longer tolerate speculative investors holding prime land without development.
“You must sign to develop within a given period. If you fail, the land returns to the government. It is as simple as that,” he said.
Wike clarified that the measures were not aimed at taking the lake away from the public but at restoring order and enforcing proper development.
“We are not taking anything from the public. We are reclaiming land from those who failed to do what they were supposed to do or who converted it to unauthorised uses,” he said.
He also took aim at a case where a recreational facility had been converted into a place of worship without approval.
“You cannot take land meant for recreation and turn it into something else. That is not how a modern city operates. We will enforce compliance,” he warned.
Wike maintained that he remained a committed PDP member and was acting solely in defence of constitutional order and due process within the party.
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