The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Friday, April 17, 2026, declared that no political group can legitimately claim to be an opposition party without first winning elections.
Speaking during a visit to the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja, where he met with members of the party’s newly elected National Working Committee (NWC), Wike argued that credibility in opposition politics must be earned at the ballot box, not through political statements or coalition arrangements.
“You cannot become an opposition party without winning an election. Those who say they are leading the opposition have not contested any election successfully,” Wike declared.
The former Rivers State governor also used the occasion to reaffirm his loyalty to the PDP leadership, which he backs, and to encourage the party to move past its internal crisis. “Yes, we have crisis, and we have almost come out of it. It will require hard work and sacrifice to move the party forward,” he said.
Taking a veiled swipe at the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Wike dismissed claims that attracting defectors alone qualifies a party as a leading opposition force. “They are claiming that people are defecting to their party and that’s how they become the leading opposition. Yet again, they criticise people who are defecting to other parties, that is wrong; but those ones defecting to their own party, that is right,” he added.
Wike urged the NWC to reconcile aggrieved members and woo back defectors, noting that many who left the PDP are still interested in returning. He also downplayed ongoing legal battles, expressing confidence in the party’s prospects. “We have defeated them at the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal. The same God will see us through. Stay focused and work as a team,” he said.
In his response, PDP National Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed, assured that the new leadership would reposition the party and restore public confidence ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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