Mallam Umar Sani, former Special on Media and Publicity to ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, says the expulsion of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and other erring party chieftains during last Saturday’s national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ibadan, Oyo State is timely and in order.
Sani, who is also a chieftain of the PDP, said the expulsion of Wike and others from the main opposition party was better late than never.
Sani stated this on Monday while appearing on an interview programme on Arise Television.
He dismissed criticisms that the party acted late in disciplining Wike and others.
Sani also stated that the just-concluded national elective convention of the PDP in Ibadan, Oyo State, was legally compliant.
The former spokesman of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council stressed that the PDP had attempted internal reconciliation through the Ambassador Hassan Adamu Committee, which sought to mediate between the disputing camps.
“We wanted to resolve this as a family but it became clear there was no way to do so. 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,” Sani said.
The PDP stalwart defended the timing of the disciplinary actions taken against Wike and others, adding, “The actions we took are better late than never.”
Sani also clarified the confusion over the presence of election observers at the convention.
The PDP chieftain recalled that at the event, the master of ceremonies initially introduced some persons as INEC officials but the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, corrected the error, stressing they were national election observers and not representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
