Defiance in Lagos: Wike, Fayose Expelled by PDP While Meeting Shettima

In a dramatic collision of politics and personal events, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, were expelled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday while they were attending Fayose’s 65th birthday celebration in Lagos. The event was made even more politically explosive by the presence of the nation’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, underscoring the defiant alliances Wike and Fayose have cultivated outside their party.

The celebration, hosted by Governor Fayose in Lagos, drew a crowd of family, friends, and high-ranking political associates. Former Senate President Bukola Saraki was also in attendance, acknowledging the occasion on his social media page, noting it was a “pleasure to join His Excellency, Ayo Fayose, along with his family, friends, political associates, and other dignitaries in Lagos today to celebrate his 65th birthday.” The visual of Wike and Fayose—two of the PDP’s most prominent figures—conferring with the Vice President, a leader in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), became a powerful image of political cross-currents and factional disunity.

The high-profile birthday event took place simultaneously with the PDP’s National Elective Convention in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. This timing was not coincidental, as Wike and Fayose have been the central figures in a faction that actively challenged the convention’s legitimacy and sought to halt the proceedings through multiple court orders. Despite their faction’s efforts, the rival, Umar Damagum-led leadership insisted on proceeding with the two-day gathering.

The climax of the internal power struggle unfolded at the Ibadan convention. Delegates there moved and unanimously supported a motion for the expulsion of Wike, Fayose, and several other top party members. The official grounds for the expulsion were alleged anti-party activities, which included holding parallel congresses and sponsoring protracted litigation aimed at crippling the party’s formal structure. Specifically, the expulsion list, which emerged from the convention, also included figures like the suspended National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, as well as others like Kamaldeen Ajibade, Dan Orbih, and George Turner.

This unprecedented move by the PDP means that two of its most famous and controversial figures were effectively cast out of the party on the very day they were hosting and attending a major political gathering, featuring a top member of the opposing ruling party. The Lagos event, therefore, served as both a birthday celebration and a profound, public display of political defiance against the official proceedings in Ibadan, underscoring the deepening crisis and factional chasm that continues to plague the main opposition party. The PDP leadership, in carrying out the expulsions, signaled its resolve to enforce party discipline, even at the cost of losing some of its most powerful members.