APC: Makinde Inciting Violence with ‘Wet e’ Remark, Not Mere Opposition Posturing

*Party’s national youth leader to convene Renewed Hope conversations

*Utomi urges opposition to rescue Nigeria from ‘Ponzi Economics’

*PDP fires back on threat of violence, says Tinubu, APC, not Makinde, to blame

*Party’s faction condemns violent rhetoric, calls for peaceful political engagement

Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, of inciting violence in the country with his recent remarks, which alluded to the crisis that engulfed the South-west through the violent “wet e” demonstration in the 1960s.

Makinde had while addressing a summit of opposition political parties in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Saturday, referenced the bloody history of “Operation Wetie” to awaken the country to the descent to a one-party state. 

But National Publicity Secretary of APC, Felix Morka, in a statement yesterday, said Makinde’s violent rhetoric could not be dismissed as mere opposition posturing. 

Morka maintained that Makinde’s statement risked fuelling anarchy, murderous rage, and widespread lawlessness capable of undermining national stability.

He stated, “The All Progressives Congress (APC) categorically condemns Governor Makinde’s incitement as reckless, and a clear and present threat to peace and national security. 

“It is particularly disturbing for a sitting governor, who bears constitutional responsibility as the Chief Security Officer of his state to conjure one of the darkest episodes of political violence in Nigeria’s history to threaten violence against the people and government of Nigeria.  

“By his incitement to violence, Makinde has shown himself to be unworthy of the high office of Governor that he occupies.” 

The ruling party called on all relevant security and intelligence agencies to take the development seriously and act to safeguard lives, property, and defend Nigeria’s democratic order. 

Morka stated that Makinde must be reminded that constitutional immunity from prosecution was not immunity from accountability for threats or acts against national security. 

He added, “No individual, however highly placed, should have the power to threaten or endanger the lives and safety of Nigerians or upend the country’s hard-won democratic governance under the guise of political commentary.”

Morka stressed that the ruling party rejected attempts by opposition leaders to frame their internal shambles in alarmist narratives about so-called one-party domination. 

Morka alleged, “The opposition parties are victims of self-inflicted injuries arising from anti-democratic practices, miserably poor leadership, internal contradictions, utter disregard for due process and the rule of law, persistent factionalisation, and the desperate and dissonant presidential ambitions of their leaders. 

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was destroyed by Atiku Abubakar’s ruthless confiscation of the PDP’s 2023 presidential ticket in violation of the party’s constitutionally entrenched rotational zoning formula.

“The Labour Party (LP) was effectively subverted by the restless nomadic disposition of its 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, permanently swinging from one party to another in search of free and uncontested presidential ticket.

“The African Democratic Congress (ADC), so-called coalition platform, was basically stillborn, strangled by the reckless robbery of that party’s leadership by the same band of marauding opposition figures, never willing to remain and build their parties but always quick to use the revolving door on to the next available party. They have left nothing but desolation in opposition trail.”

Morka said APC rejected the veiled expectation of opposition leaders that APC would help them manage their internal affairs. 

“We bear no such duty and will not provide any such leadership consulting services to them,” he stated.  “And we will not yield to blackmail to abdicate our duty to our party to plan, organise and mobilise to compete effectively in the upcoming 2027 general election,” he added.

Israel Convenes Renewed Hope Parley

APC National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, convened the maiden edition of Renewed Hope Conversations at University of Abuja, weekend, drawing a gathering of ministers, heads of government agencies, and over 1,000 students in a powerful, no-holds-barred dialogue with policymakers.

The initiative served as a dynamic youth-centred governance platform, deliberately designed to foster transparency, deepen engagement, and give young Nigerians direct access to decision-makers shaping the country’s future under the President Bola Tinubu administration.

In an atmosphere charged with energy and candour, students engaged government officials head-on – asking relevant questions, voicing concerns, and offering bold ideas on critical national issues.

Discussions spanned education reform, job creation, entrepreneurship, digital innovation, national development priorities, and the urgent need for deeper youth inclusion in governance.

Leading the government delegation were top cabinet members, including Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa; Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa; Minister of State for Regional Development, Uba Ahmadu; and Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs, Tope Fasua, alongside heads of strategic national institutions.

Equally in attendance were key agency leaders, including Managing Director of Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr; Managing Director of Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP), Uzoma Nwagba; Director-General of National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr. Temitope Ilori; Director-General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Adeyeye; and Director-General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi.

The leaders provided clarity on government programmes, addressed pressing concerns, and outlined bold policy interventions aimed at expanding opportunities for young Nigerians across education, healthcare, technology, and economic development.

The response from students was electric. Participants described the engagement as transformative, refreshing, and long overdue—many experiencing, for the first time, direct and meaningful access to top-tier policymakers in an open and responsive setting.

Utomi to Opposition: Save Nigeria from ‘Ponzi Economics’ 

Political economist, Professor Pat Utomi, charged opposition parties to rescue Nigeria from what he described as the “ponzi economics” of the current All Progressives Congress (APC) federal administration.

Utomi, who spoke during the opposition parties’ summit in Ibadan, on Saturday, described Nigeria’s current economic condition as a “moral outrage”.

He urged opposition political actors to chart a new course anchored on production, discipline, and inclusive growth.

Speaking on the theme, “Rebuilding a Productive, Dynamic and Efficient Economy for Nigeria,” Utomi painted a stark picture of widening inequality and hardship.

He cited a recent PiggyVest report indicating that 58 per cent of Nigerians earned less than N100,000 monthly, contrasting this with what he called the excesses of the political elite.

Recounting a personal experience at a petrol station in Lagos, he said the cost of filling his tank equated to “two and a half times the monthly income of many Nigerians”, adding that a passing seven-car convoy symbolised “the earnings of about 20 citizens”.

Utomi stated, “Our current economic reality is a moral outrage. While many survive on remittances, some celebrate ‘Tinubunomics’ and ask suffering Nigerians to wait in hope.”

He accused the federal government of “profligate spending, reckless borrowing and treasury looting”, warning that such practices have deepened poverty and inequality.

Citing World Bank data, Utomi stated that nearly 130 million Nigerians lived in multidimensional poverty, questioning the absence of widespread civic resistance.

Utomi further lamented that the country had drifted into unsustainable economic management.

Reflecting on Nigeria’s past, he said the country once pursued industrialisation with clear vision and discipline.

PDP Fires Back on Threat of violence, Says Tinubu, APC, Not Makinde, Are to Blame

The PDP national leadership under Tanimu Turaki, SAN, fired back at APC and its members over their position on the national summit of the opposition political parties in Ibadan on Saturday, saying the ruling party and Tinubu are to blame for any violent uprising in the country.

National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Ini Ememobong, in a counter statement, said, ”One of their numerous pain points arising therefrom was the historical recollection of ‘wetie’ – a sad descent into uncontrollable violence, caused by the political greed of the then ruling party and its concomitant asphyxiation of the opposition.”

Ememobong explained, ”This recollection was embedded in the speech of the host, Governor Oluseyi Makinde. The federal government and the APC have described that recollection as a call to violence and have since been reacting with the panic of an animal cornered by its own misdeeds.”

He stated, “The use of history in the way and manner done by Governor Makinde in the said speech served as a caution and advisory to the federal government, the APC, and other national institutions, of the unmitigated crisis that their actions and inactions can result in.

”Only a guilty aggressor can interpret it to mean a threat or call to violence. It is common knowledge that those who do not learn from history are doomed by it.”

He explained that Makinde offered a sobering reminder that when insatiable political greed and avarice replaced patriotism and good governance, and were compounded by the accumulated anger and frustrations of the citizenry, the resultant conflagration would be of immeasurable proportion.

Ememobong stated, ”This again is a fact that history bears witness to. The events that led to the sad incident of ‘wetie’ and the current happenings within the political space, as orchestrated by the APC, are not just similar but identical in both intent and execution.

”To continue doing the same thing while expecting a different result is the very definition of political recklessness. When pushed to the wall, people have no other direction to go but forward, against the wall itself.
”The current slide into elected totalitarianism has been entirely engineered by the APC and the Federal Government. They cannot decry the effect while remaining wilfully blind to the cause and to their own culpability in it.”

PDP Faction Condemns Violent Rhetoric, Calls for Peaceful Political Engagement

A PDP group loyal to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, expressed concern over reports of remarks allegedly made by Makinde, referencing “Wet e”, a term historically associated with a period of grave political violence in the old Western Region.

A statement by the faction’s national publicity secretary, Haruna Jungudo, condemned what it described as ”this disgraceful statement”, and reiterated that violence had absolutely no place in Nigeria’s political space today.

According to Jungudo, ”Nigeria must come first, before politics and before personal ambitions. Without a peaceful and stable nation, no political system or democratic process can thrive.”

The group called on Nigerians, irrespective of political affiliation, to unite in rejecting any rhetoric or action that could incite unrest or threaten national cohesion. 

It stated, ”Our shared history reminds us of the cost of division and we must remain vigilant in safeguarding the peace we have worked hard to build.

”We further urge security and law enforcement agencies to carry out their duties with diligence and professionalism by reviewing the circumstances surrounding these reports and also ensure that all relevant individuals are available to respond to lawful inquiries no matter how highly placed.”

The statement added, ”The PDP remains committed to fostering a political culture rooted in dialogue, tolerance, and respect for the rule of law. 

”Our nation’s future rests on our shared commitment to put the country first, above any individual interest.”