“I won’t descend into the gutters with anyone” – Makinde takes swipe at Wike

Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, on Thursday, appeared to take a swipe at the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, declaring that he would not “go low with anyone who decides to go into the gutters.”

Makinde made the remark while addressing journalists shortly after the Southern Zoning Consultative Summit of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), held in Lagos.

The meeting was attended by prominent PDP leaders including the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Adolphus Wabara; Chairman of the National Zoning Committee and Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri; Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke; Enugu State Deputy Governor, Ifeanyi Ossai, who represented Governor Peter Mbah; former Osun Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola; Chief Bode George; Senator Monsurat Sunmonu; as well as 12 of the 17 PDP National Assembly members from the South.

Responding to questions on internal party divisions and criticisms from aggrieved members, Makinde emphasized the need for maturity in leadership, stressing that personal grievances should not overshadow national interests.

“Personally, when people go low or go into the gutters, I don’t go with them. Some people are not going into the gutters. We will reach out to them. That is democracy. I can disagree with people, but there shouldn’t be anything personal here. It should be about what we are giving to Nigerians, because they are watching,” Makinde said.

The governor also highlighted the party’s resilience, noting that results from recent elections showed the PDP remains a major political force.
“In all our states, they showed last Saturday that PDP is not dead. In most of the 12 states, PDP came second. That indicates that if we continue to work hard, we can reclaim the confidence of Nigerians,” he added.

Makinde further downplayed concerns about parallel southern meetings, stressing that the Lagos summit enjoyed wide representation. He reiterated that consultation within the PDP would remain ongoing ahead of Monday’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, where key decisions on the party’s future are expected.

On the issue of zoning the PDP presidential ticket, the governor said:
“We haven’t even gotten there. We need to have a party first before you start talking about presidential candidates. If we don’t have a party, anything you are trying to do will fall flat. Our efforts right now are directed towards having a vibrant and united PDP that Nigerians will be proud of and believe in again.”