Former Governor of Cross River State, has urged members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to continue to work for the stability and unity of the party.
The PDP in recent times have been struggling with internal squabbles and defections of key members to the ruling party, All Progressives Congress, APC.
Duke made the call at the end of the South-South Zonal Congress held in Calabar over the weekend, assuring that the party can bounce back to power if members are united, focused and steadfast.
“I want to implore us to be focused and steadfast. There is no amount of struggle we cannot surmount.”
Meanwhile, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike told the congress that nobody in the party or Nigeria can oppress, intimidate or stop him from working for the APC Federal Government.
He insisted that he was not committing anti-party offenses.
According to him, other key PDP leaders are also enhancing the fortunes of other parties yet they are not castigated.
“You have a BoT chairman who said he has no regrets in praising and supporting the LP governor in Abia State.
“The BoT chairman said he will continue to support the Abia governor until his second term ticket is guaranteed.
“Besides, the chairman of PDP Governors Forum went and celebrated that governor from another party who won election in his state against PDP and that was not seen as anti-party.
“The National Working Committee never rebuked the governor for adopting a governorship candidate of another party. You see hypocrisy,” Wike said.
He emphasized that nobody in Nigeria can oppress or intimidate him, saying he does not need to be a governor to know his right.
“I will continue to fight until the right thing is done and seen to have been done.”
Speaking further, the minister says, “Before I became the FCT minister, I wrote to the party and consulted with critical stakeholders of the PDP.
“They consented and said go and serve. So what offence have I committed? We have elders in this country who don’t tell their children the truth.
“For me, I say no, I must tell people the truth. It is wrong that political leaders have refused to tell the truth.
“We the Southern PDP leaders agreed that we should support a Southern President in 2023, with the likes of Bode George. This is the reason I ensured that Tinubu won the election.”
Donald Duke appeals for unity in PDP as Wike insists he’s free to work for APC
