Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has accused former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, of remaining bitter over his failure to become the party’s national chairman.
Wike said he had no regrets about opposing George’s bid for the position, insisting that the chairmanship slot was reserved for the South-South at the time and could not be claimed by George as a matter of entitlement.
The minister, in a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, said George’s political frustration had been worsened by the emergence of Deji Doherty as the PDP leader in Lagos State, whom he alleged the former deputy national chairman did not want to see in the position.
According to Wike, George had acted as though the PDP national chairmanship was his birthright. He recalled that, after the party’s national convention, he personally visited George at his residence in Maitama, Abuja, while serving as governor of Rivers State, in an attempt to reconcile with him.
Wike alleged that George’s wife tried to prevent him from leaving the residence, but that the intervention of former Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, helped to calm the situation.
The FCT minister also questioned George’s political influence in Lagos, describing him as a failed politician who, despite his long association with the PDP and the positions he had occupied, had allegedly failed to deliver electoral victories for the party in the state since 1999.
Wike cited results from George’s alleged polling unit in Lagos Island to support his claim, saying the PDP secured only 40 votes against the APC’s 84 in the 2019 presidential election.
He added that after George transferred his voter registration to Eti-Osa ahead of the 2023 elections, the PDP reportedly recorded only four votes at his polling unit.
He argued that political leadership should be determined by electoral performance and the ability to contribute to a party’s success, rather than by name, title or claims of being a founding member.
Wike said George’s continued criticism appeared to be driven by his disappointment over the failed chairmanship bid, adding that he would continue to respond as long as the former PDP chieftain remained publicly critical of him and his political allies.
