Udenta: Presidency, INEC and police fueling PDP crisis through Wike

Political strategist and founding Alliance for Democracy scribe, Prof. Udenta Udenta, has accused President Bola Tinubu, INEC and the Nigeria Police of deliberately destabilising the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

 In an interview on Thursday, he alleged that the actions of the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, at the PDP National Secretariat were carried out “on the orders of the President.”

Udenta insisted the ongoing PDP turmoil is no longer internal but state-engineered. Describing Wike as merely an extension of the Presidency, he said: Wike is not an autonomous force. Wike went to Wadata Plaza on behalf of the President because the President was at Wadata Plaza not Wike. He added that any threats or press briefings issued by the minister were “the President issuing the threat".

The political analyst argued that Wike’s involvement was not personal ambition but a “deliberate institutional choice” by the Presidency to weaken an opposition party that the APC “deeply fears” due to their nationwide competitiveness. He said the PDP’s internal issues would have remained manageable if not for “an external force right at the heart of the mix.”

Udenta also criticised INEC, accusing the electoral body of double standards and evasiveness over the PDP leadership dispute. “INEC has a mandate to be clear and its silence is no longer good enough,” he said, questioning why the commission accepted Ambassador Damagun in one instance but ignored the suspension of four NWC members in another. He added that INEC appeared to conveniently obey only the court orders that aligned with its preferred outcome.

The professor further accused the Nigeria Police of enabling the factional takeover of the PDP Secretariat. He alleged that despite assurances to protect the facility, officers “allowed the Anyanwu faction to enter at 5am while the police watched." He condemned the firing of “over 200 canisters of tear gas on sitting governors, former governors, and party leaders” describing it as a dangerous and avoidable escalation.

He maintained that the ambiguity from state institutions was intentional. “There is no institutional weakness here. It is a deliberate institutional choice to hypnotise INEC in vagueness,” he argued, adding that while the PDP currently recognises Tanimu Turaki SAN as chairman, legal clarity will only come after ongoing disputes are resolved.

Udenta concluded by urging the public to stop personalising the conflict around Wike. “If the President calls Wike and says leave the PDP alone, the crisis will end tomorrow,” he said, insisting the party cannot stabilise “when a potent and powerful force the President is intervening through a minister.”