Makinde’s aide blasts Fayose, Wike over Abuja PDP convention

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The Special Adviser to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde on Federal Constituency Matters, Dare Adeleke, has slammed former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose over comments made at Saturday’s Abuja convention of the Peoples Democratic Party. The PDP, backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, elected new executive members of its National Working Committee, led by Abdulrahman Mohammed as chairman, with the Independent National Electoral Commission updating its website on Monday to recognise the newly elected officers. However, Adeleke, in a statement made available to PUNCH Online on Tuesday, described the Wike-backed Abuja convention as “fake” and legally questionable. Recall that Fayose, at the convention, predicted Makinde’s expulsion from the party while hailing Wike as the true national leader of the PDP. Fayose said, “Seyi Makinde will be expelled. Let him be reminded that my name is Ayo Fayose, and I am saying this in public. “This convention is open for the benefit of sincere PDP members. This party has a leadership, and our national leader is Nyesom Wike. We are all celebrating him and thanking God for his life.” Adeleke, in Tuesday’s statement, described Fayose’s remarks as a “torrent of words” reflecting “how far the Nigerian political space has deteriorated.” He accused Fayose of speaking with “reckless abandon” and dismissed the claim that Makinde had been suspended as “legally questionable and insulting.” Adeleke criticised Fayose’s past attempts to dominate the PDP South-West, noting that Makinde’s record of “discipline, enterprise and credibility” stands in stark contrast to Fayose’s “political theatrics and personal instability.” The aide accused Fayose of launching an “unprovoked tirade” against Makinde in a bid to assert credibility and relevance in the public space. He said, “Fayose appears to believe that mere utterance transforms falsehood into fact. Emboldened by his alliance with Nyesom Wike, Fayose now speaks with reckless abandon. “Their indulgence in power and privilege has clearly fostered the illusion that they are beyond consequence. But history is replete with examples of such hubris ending in disgrace. Their day of reckoning, however delayed, is inevitable.” Makinde’s aide also slammed the Wike-Fayose faction for undermining democratic norms, noting ongoing legal challenges against the convention. “With subsisting court orders and ongoing legal challenges surrounding the legitimacy of the Abuja convention, it is astonishing, though not surprising, that certain actors continue to push forward with actions that raise serious constitutional questions,” he said.Makinde’s aide also slammed the Wike-Fayose faction for undermining democratic norms, noting ongoing legal challenges against the convention. “With subsisting court orders and ongoing legal challenges surrounding the legitimacy of the Abuja convention, it is astonishing, though not surprising, that certain actors continue to push forward with actions that raise serious constitutional questions,” he said. Makinde’s aide also slammed the Wike-Fayose faction for undermining democratic norms, noting ongoing legal challenges against the convention. “With subsisting court orders and ongoing legal challenges surrounding the legitimacy of the Abuja convention, it is astonishing, though not surprising, that certain actors continue to push forward with actions that raise serious constitutional questions,” he said.