“Bode George Reveals Why He Fell Out with Wike After 2023 Election Support”

Chief Bode George, a senior member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and member of its Board of Trustees, has opened up about the reasons for his fallout with Nyesom Wike after initially supporting him in the build-up to the 2023 presidential election.

Speaking on Arise TV on January 31, 2025, George explained that his temporary support for Wike and his camp stemmed from his dissatisfaction with the PDP’s national convention in 2022. He said the party’s zoning arrangements were disrupted when both the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, were from the northern region. This, according to George, led to the crisis within the party.

“I didn’t just jump ship to be with Wike or Atiku; I had meetings with both of them and Ayu; they disrupted the system,” George said. He added that after the convention, he was forced to align with Wike’s group when his efforts to persuade Atiku and Ayu to reconsider their decisions fell on deaf ears.

However, George revealed that his relationship with Wike soured when he learned that Wike’s group planned to endorse Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). “When Wike people came, we had a meeting, and they made me a leader. In the end, we had two presidential candidates from the south, and they said they believed that Bola was the better person. I told them that if they stepped out of this meeting and talked about it outside there, I would counter you,” he said, adding that he strongly disagreed with their support for Tinubu, especially given his own knowledge of Tinubu’s political tactics in Lagos State.

George’s comments shed light on the deep divisions that continue to affect the PDP, as the party struggles to reconcile differing factions ahead of future elections.