By Abiola Olawale
The internal friction within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) reached a new boiling point this week as Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde delivered a pointed critique aimed at his former ally and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
Speaking at a high-level party stakeholder meeting in Ibadan, Makinde signaled a definitive shift in the party’s internal dynamics, declaring that the era of “political vagabonds” and double agents within the PDP is officially over.
Makinde spoke on Tuesday during the unveiling of the Oyo State PDP secretariat, in what appeared to be a response to comments earlier made by Wike.
On Monday, Wike, while speaking at the party’s 105th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, had vowed to protect the PDP from what he described as internal “vampires” and also declared interest in the activities of the party’s Oyo State chapter.
Speaking on Tuesday in Ibadan, Makinde said the party had now rid itself of elements responsible for persistent crises.
“In Yoruba land, we always say that if you see a house or a compound that is peaceful, the vagabond in that house has not grown up,” the governor said.
According to him, the group gained prominence within the party after the PDP lost federal power in 2015.
“In 2015, PDP lost power at the federal level. There was a gap in the leadership. Otherwise, those vagabonds would never have been able to take hold of PDP,” Makinde said.
He said the group controlled the party for almost a decade before being forced out.
“They grew up in 2015, they had their time, and for 10 years, a decade, they practised their vagabondry in the PDP. But they have been expelled in November 2025. So, there is no more vagabond in PDP,” he said.
Makinde also distanced the Oyo State government from the party’s internal legal battles and national leadership disputes.
“Finally, the government has no interest in PDP lawyer states and no interest in PDP nationally,” he said.
Reflecting on his own political alignment in the past, the governor admitted that he had previously worked with the group.
“Let me confess. I came into government in 2019, and by 2023, I was yoked with them. But now, I’ve repented,” Makinde said.
