Tonye Cole: Wike working to weaken PDP — it’s not a secret

Tonye Cole, the co-founder of Sahara Group, says Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), is working to weaken the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Cole spoke on Thursday during an interview with Adesuwa Giwa Osagie on ‘Untold Stories’, a podcast.

The PDP has been in crisis since Wike was defeated during the party’s presidential primary election in 2022.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar won the primary election after polling 371 votes to defeat Wike, his closest rival, who secured 237 votes.

However, Wike, with four other PDP governors, later formed the G5, which was believed to have contributed to the PDP’s defeat in the 2023 elections.

Segun Sowunmi, a PDP chieftain, recently said President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of Wike as the FCT minister is causing problems within the opposition party.

Wike has consistently maintained that he remains a PDP member despite serving in an APC administration.

Speaking on the podcast, Cole, who was the governorship candidate of the APC in Rivers state during the 2023 elections, said the ruling party and Wike are aware of the maneuver, adding that it is an open secret.

“It is an open secret to everyone; it is not hidden. The role that he plays now in PDP is to weaken PDP to such an extent that the opposition to the APC moving forward is no longer there,” he said.

“PDP is aware of it. Everybody is aware of it. APC is aware of it. Everybody is aware of it. He is aware of it. Nobody is holding that secret; it is over there.

“But somehow it amazes me when I think about it. It doesn’t seem as if PDP wants to do anything about it. It is their cross.”