The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has denied claims that he promised President Bola Tinubu that he would “hold down” the Peoples Democratic Party ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The denial comes amid tensions within the PDP, which escalated last week when Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, accused Wike of promising Tinubu that he would hold the opposition party down for him.

Speaking during an end-of-the-year media chat on Monday, Wike described Makinde’s allegation as a blatant lie and suggested that the Oyo State governor was “frustrated” and lacked the courage to openly declare his own presidential ambitions.

“Seyi Makinde has never called me Wike. That is the first time I have heard him calling me Wike. It’s unfortunate.

First of all, you ask yourself, what was that meeting? What was the purpose of that meeting? That would have led me to say, Mr President, I will hold PDP down for you.”

The former Rivers State governor queried why, if the allegation were true, Makinde did not raise the issue earlier after the alleged meeting with the president.

“Why did Seyi Makinde not come up all this while to tell the party, see what Wike is doing? I was in a meeting. I saw what Wike said. It’s not correct,” he said.

Setting the record straight, Wike said: “There was no such meeting. Rather, my humble self, the former governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, the former governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, the former governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and Seyi Makinde, went to see the president.

Describing the claim as “very, totally unfair,” Wike said the Oyo State governor was frustrated.

The controversy stems from Makinde’s revelations during a media chat last week, where he detailed a private 2023 meeting involving himself, Wike and Tinubu.