Ovation Magazine publisher and prominent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Chief Dele Momodu, has laid the blame for Peter Obi’s exit from the PDP squarely at the feet of Nyesom Wike, the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In a revealing interview with Arise Television on Wednesday, Momodu explained how Wike’s actions played a key role in Obi’s decision to leave the PDP and join the Labour Party (LP) ahead of the 2023 general election. Obi later emerged as the Labour Party’s presidential candidate.
According to Momodu, during the lead-up to the election, Atiku Abubakar, the PDP’s presidential candidate, pushed for the party to cede power to the Southeast rather than continuing the regional rotation of the presidential ticket. Momodu suggested that if Wike had aligned with the Southeast’s ambitions, he might have benefited from this power shift, but instead, Wike distanced himself from the idea, declaring that he was not “an Igbo man” and had no interest in an Igbo agenda.
Momodu went further to accuse Wike of intentionally frustrating Obi out of the PDP, clearing the path for Wike’s own ambitions to emerge as the party’s candidate. The PDP, according to Momodu, did not face issues with zoning until Wike and his allies introduced a divisive north-south agenda, ultimately leading to the tension and Obi’s departure from the party.
Momodu’s remarks shine a light on the internal power struggles within the PDP and the factors that led to one of the most significant political exits in Nigerian history.
