- Mohammed: “Wike Is A Transactional Politician, He Is Not Loyal”
- Wike Replies: “You Are Not Even Meant To Be PDP Gov Chairman, You Are Greedy”
By Abiola Olawale
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is facing escalating internal turmoil as the planned National Executive Council (NEC) meeting scheduled for February 29 hangs in the balance.
This comes as the conflict between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, who is the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, continues to escalate unguarded.
It was gathered that the tension between these two figures had escalated, with both leaders publicly confronting each other over the direction and leadership of the party.
Wike and Mohammed have been at odds over several issues, including the leadership of the party and its strategy moving forward.
The latest dispute comes amidst heated debates on the controversial tax reforms bill before the National Assembly.
Mohammed, while reacting to Wike’s criticism of his opposition to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Tax Reform Bills, described Wike as a liability to the party.
In a statement by Mukhtar Gidado, his media adviser, Mohammed said Wike is a “transactional politician” and a “liability” in the Tinubu administration.
“His recent media outburst was yet another reminder of his transactional approach to politics, where personal ambition eclipses loyalty, principles, and collective interests,’’ Mohammed added.
However, Wike, in a counter-reaction, fired back, urging the governor to stop giving an excuse for his “lack of capacity to provide leadership as chairman of the party’s Governors’ Forum”.
He said: “It is funny that a known fairweather politician like Bala Mohammed was the one calling someone else a transactional politician.
“First, Governor Bala Mohammed is holding the position of Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum out of political greed because, by convention and practice, the position should be held by one of the PDP Governors in the South. The reason being that the immediate past Chairman of the Forum was from the North, same as the PDP National Chairman.’’
This comes amid anticipation of the February NEC meeting which was intended to address these internal disputes.
