The political rivalry between Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, intensified on Tuesday as both camps exchanged sharp words over control of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state.
Makinde had earlier taken a swipe at Wike while inaugurating a new PDP secretariat in Ibadan, accusing members of a rival faction loyal to the minister of being “vagabonds” and insisting that the party in Oyo remained united under his leadership.
Speaking in Yoruba, the governor said peaceful political environments only become troubled when “vagabonds” emerge, adding that such elements had already been expelled from the PDP.
“They had their time. They practised their vagabondage in the party for 10 years, but they were expelled in November 2025. So there are no more vagabonds in the PDP,” Makinde said.
The comments followed Wike’s earlier remarks at a PDP National Executive Committee meeting, where he declared interest in the party’s structure in Oyo State, currently controlled by Makinde’s camp.
Reacting, Wike’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, launched a blistering response on Facebook, describing the governor as a “political vagabond” who lacked loyalty to any political ideology.
“There is this political vagabond in Ibadan. He is only loyal to his personal political interests and is always ready to sacrifice anything, including friendship,” Olayinka wrote.
He accused Makinde of serial party defections, claiming the governor moved from the PDP to the All Nigeria Peoples Party in 2007 after failing to secure a senatorial ticket, and later to the Social Democratic Party in 2015 when he could not clinch the PDP governorship ticket.
“Now that this vagabond has been expelled from the PDP and his Ibadan Amala Kanifa is nullified by the court, where will he go next?” Olayinka added.
The latest exchange deepens the widening rift within the PDP, particularly in the South-West, as power blocs jostle for control ahead of future electoral contests.
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