Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faces an uphill task in its bid to reclaim power in the 2027 presidential election due to its lingering internal crisis.
Nyesom Wike made the remarks on Thursday during his monthly media chat in Abuja, where he argued that the party must first resolve its internal challenges before it can realistically compete for the presidency.
According to him, rebuilding the PDP from the grassroots should take precedence over focusing on the 2027 presidential contest.
“I have said before that the PDP has serious problems. With the situation the party is facing, it is not easy to reposition it to win a presidential election. That is a difficult task,” he said.
The FCT minister Nyesom Wike also criticised what he described as the tendency to define Nigeria’s democracy by the participation of prominent opposition figures such as Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.
He questioned the narrative that democracy is only meaningful if certain politicians contest elections, saying such a perception undermines the country’s democratic process.
Nyesom Wike maintained that the PDP’s immediate priority should be strengthening its structures at the ward and state levels before thinking about mounting a successful presidential campaign.
He also recalled that he had previously been accused of working for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), wondering where those who made the allegations now stand.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been battling a prolonged internal crisis since the 2023 general election, with disagreements over the party’s leadership, direction and efforts to rebuild ahead of the 2027 polls. The divisions have led to repeated clashes among key stakeholders and rival camps within the party.
One of the most prominent figures in the dispute is Nyesom Wike, who has remained at odds with sections of the PDP leadership despite retaining his membership of the party while serving in the APC-led Federal Government.
Wike has repeatedly argued that the PDP must first resolve its internal disputes and rebuild its structures from the grassroots before it can mount a credible challenge for the presidency in 2027. His latest remarks come amid ongoing efforts by the opposition to reorganise and position itself ahead of the next general election, with questions continuing to surround the PDP’s unity and electoral prospects.
