A prominent figure within the Peoples Democratic Party has broken his silence on the recent expulsion of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and other high-profile members, labelling the decisive action as a necessary move for the party’s survival.
Umar Sani, a former spokesman for the PDP’s presidential campaign council, has staunchly defended the party’s controversial decisions, stating that while some may criticise the timing, the expulsions were ultimately “better late than never.”
Sani’s comments come amidst a raging storm within the opposition party, following its national elective convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, last Saturday. The convention saw the election of new national officers, including Kabiru Turaki as National Chairman, but it was the purge of key members that sent shockwaves through the political landscape.
In an exclusive interview on Arise News’ ‘Morning Show’ on Monday, Sani dismissed notions that the party had acted belatedly in disciplining the FCT minister and others, including former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose and the suspended National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu.
He revealed that the party had exhaustively pursued internal reconciliation before resorting to expulsion.
“We wanted to resolve this as a family, but it became clear there was no way to do so,” Sani explained. “Wike himself described it as a dispute among family members. One of his conditions was that we agree not to field a presidential candidate in 2027. We cannot wait for a fight to finish; we have to end the fight.”
Addressing the confusion surrounding the presence of the Independent National Electoral Commission at the convention, Sani provided a detailed account. He recalled that the event’s master of ceremonies had initially introduced certain individuals as INEC officials, a claim that was swiftly corrected by the Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed.
“Immediately, I tweeted that the INEC officials are here. Moments later, Bala corrected it, saying these are national election observers. I quickly issued a statement to put out the correct information so I would not be accused of complicity,” Sani stated.
He further argued that INEC’s presence does not legally invalidate a party convention, citing the Electoral Act. “INEC’s presence or absence does not validate or invalidate a party convention. The electoral act allows INEC to monitor national conventions but does not make it mandatory,” he said.
To bolster his point, Sani referenced the Labour Party, whose previous convention proceeded without INEC, yet was later recognised by the commission following a court order. He emphasised that the PDP’s convention was held in compliance with a valid court order from Justice A.L. Akintola of the Oyo State High Court and that all statutory requirements, including the 21-day notice, were duly met.
The motion for the expulsion of Wike and others was notably moved by a senior party stalwart, former PDP Deputy National Chairman (South) Bode George, and seconded by the Bauchi State PDP Chairman, Samaila Buga. The motion was then put to a voice vote by Governor Bala Mohammed and was overwhelmingly endorsed by the delegates present.
This sweeping action signals a renewed and aggressive resolve by the PDP leadership to confront internal dissent and stamp out anti-party activities, a move that Umar Sani believes was crucial, even if delayed.
“The actions we took are better late than never,” he affirmed, marking a definitive stance in what has become the most significant internal party crisis for the PDP in recent years.
