Africa-Press – Nigeria. Political strategist and founding National Secretary of the Alliance for Democracy, Prof. Udenta Udenta, has accused President Bola Tinubu, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the Nigeria Police of working to destabilise the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Speaking on Thursday during an interview with Arise News, Udenta alleged that the actions of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, at the PDP National Secretariat were carried out “on the orders of the President”.
He said the crisis rocking the PDP was no longer internal but “externally engineered,” insisting that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, was deliberately weakening the opposition.
According to him, Wike’s political moves in the PDP were not independent but part of a broader strategy directed by the Presidency.
“Wike is not an autonomous administrative or political force. He is a dependent force,” Udenta said.
“Wike went to Wadata Plaza on behalf of the President because the President was at Wadata Plaza — not Wike. If Wike holds a press briefing, it is the President holding the briefing.”
Udenta described Wike’s involvement as a “deliberate institutional choice” by the Presidency to influence the PDP’s internal affairs.
He said the PDP, like any large political organisation, faced normal internal disputes, but argued that the crisis had been exacerbated by external interference.
“As we struggle to rebuild the party and grow the brand, the Presidency and the APC are working to diminish the party,” he said, adding that the APC views the PDP as its strongest national challenger.
The political scholar also criticised INEC, accusing the commission of ambiguity and selective actions regarding the PDP’s leadership tussle.
“INEC has a mandate to be clear and unequivocal. In Ekiti, INEC’s actions showed it did not accept Abdurrahman as acting chairman, but it later accepted Damagun. Did INEC accept the suspension of four NWC members? INEC has not spoken,” he said.
He alleged that INEC chose which court orders to obey, claiming the commission followed a directive that suited its preferred outcome.
Udenta also faulted the police for enabling what he described as the factional takeover of the PDP Secretariat.
He said despite prior complaints by the new PDP chairman, Tanimu Turaki SAN’s son, the police allowed the Anyanwu faction access to the secretariat in the early hours of the morning.
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