Wike, Fayose And The Dangerous Game Within The PDP

By Ademola Salami

The current state of Nigerian politics is a bewildering spectacle that defies standard political science, suggesting that to truly understand the terrain, one must witness the “practice” rather than rely on the theory.

At the center of this absurdity are Nyesom Wike and Ayodele Fayose, two men who have elevated political duplicity to a high art form. Despite building their entire careers within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)—serving as two-term governors, local government chairmen, and federal ministers—they have effectively become “dual citizens” of the political world.

Their actions represent a shameless brand of loyalty in which they cling to the PDP’s structure while actively fueling the machinery of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Wike’s open support for Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Fayose’s campaigning for APC candidates in Ekiti State are not merely strategic moves; they represent what critics describe as a direct betrayal of the millions of voters who supported them under the “umbrella” of the opposition.

This behavior reaches the height of treachery in their alleged sponsorship of a parallel party structure. By backing a former National Secretary—whose suspension has been upheld by the appellate courts—to challenge the legitimate leadership under Turaki, they are effectively conducting what critics describe as a scorched-earth campaign.

It is a fundamental legal principle that one cannot build something on nothing (ex nihilo nihil fit); a suspended officer lacks the legal capacity to convene meetings or form valid committees. Consequently, any parallel structure created under such circumstances would be a legal nullity.

However, if these actions are not curtailed, they could have a devastating impact on the legal eligibility of candidates in the coming elections.

The Nigerian judiciary has established clear and uncompromising precedents regarding such factionalism. In the landmark 2019 Zamfara APC primaries Supreme Court ruling, the Supreme Court nullified the victory of all APC candidates because the party failed to conduct valid primaries due to internal factions, famously declaring their votes as “wasted votes.”

Similarly, in Rivers State during the same election cycle, the court barred the APC from the ballot entirely because of parallel primary structures. More recently, in Shiddi v. Jimkuta, the apex court reaffirmed that only primaries conducted by the National Working Committee (NWC) of a party are authentic.

By intentionally creating parallel factions, Wike and Fayose may be setting a legal trap. If the courts cannot distinguish between the “authentic” and the “parallel” structures due to this manufactured chaos, entire party slates could be disqualified, effectively handing victory to the ruling party before a single vote is cast.

To stop this situation, the Board of Trustees (BoT)—as the “conscience of the party”—must move beyond rhetoric and take decisive legal action. It should initiate contempt of court proceedings against the suspended National Secretary and his allies for attempting to exercise powers already stripped by the Court of Appeal.

Furthermore, the BoT can seek a definitive judicial declaration affirming the Turaki-led NWC as the sole authority recognised by law, thereby insulating the party’s candidates from the kind of legal consequences seen in Zamfara.

Ultimately, the actions of Wike and Fayose must be condemned by critics as a masterclass in political narcissism.

They are accused of trading ideological conviction for personal relevance and vendettas, proving that for them, a party logo is nothing more than a flag of convenience.

Their supposed “mastery of the game,” critics argue, is poisonous to Nigerian democracy, suggesting that principles are negotiable and that the opposition risks becoming a shadow of itself. By attempting to serve two masters, they risk serving only themselves, leaving Nigeria’s democratic process weakened and teetering on a legal precipice that could threaten the legitimacy of the next election cycle.