Oyo State governor Engr. Seyi Makinde recently talked about his spat with the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, maintaining that such clash is not a personal issue but a struggle in keeping the country’s multi-party democracy afloat.
Makinde also accused the former Rivers State governor of pursuing a political structure that is capable of culminating into a one-party state, an idea he argued runs contrary to the dream of Nigeria’s founding fathers.
Makinde spoke on the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party following the confrontation at the party’s national secretariat on Tuesday and expressed optimism that the party would surmount its current challenges.
“A message of real hope I want to give to our members and Nigerians is that this is about the future of democracy in Nigeria,” he said. “Sometimes things get worse before they get better. If we have to remain here for two weeks so that democracy survives, then we will.”
Responding to questions about his fallout with Wike despite their close alliance before the 2023 elections as members of the G5, Makinde dismissed any personal angle. “Well, small minds talk about people, average minds talk about events, but we prefer talking about issues,” he said. “The issue is simple: we don’t believe in a one-party Nigeria. Our founding fathers built a multi-party democracy and we must sustain it so that Nigerians have real choices in electing their leaders. That is what matters.”
