Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would collapse if he defects to the All Progressives Congress (APC). He made the remark while responding to questions about his political future during an end-of-year media chat in Port Harcourt on Monday.
Wike insisted that despite recent defections by some of his allies, he remains firmly in the PDP. According to him, he has no intention of leaving the party.
Wike claims mass defections would follow
The former Rivers State governor said his defection would trigger a wave of exits from the PDP across several states. He named Benue, Plateau, Abia, and Edo as states where party leaders would follow him if he decided to leave.
“Today, if I say I want to decamp to APC, that will be the end of PDP,” Wike said. However, he stressed that others leaving the party does not compel him to do the same.
Reaction to defections in Rivers
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that several Wike loyalists in the Rivers State House of Assembly, including Governor Siminalayi Fubara, recently defected from the PDP to the APC. Nevertheless, Wike downplayed the development.
He argued that Fubara’s defection does not automatically make him the APC leader in Rivers State. According to Wike, party leadership structures differ across states.
Wike defends his political structure
Wike assured his supporters that his political structure in Rivers remains intact and uncontested. He explained that party membership begins at the ward level, not the state level.
“There is nothing like 001 in the state,” Wike said, adding that leadership requires more than occupying the governor’s office.
Second term not guaranteed — Wike
The minister further argued that Governor Fubara’s defection to the APC does not guarantee a second term. He said meaningful defections usually involve council chairmen, lawmakers, and party leaders moving together.
According to Wike, Fubara joined the APC alone, making the move politically insignificant. He insisted that political strength lies in collective followership, not individual decisions.
