Wike the Double Agent? — How Nyesom Wike’s ‘APC Romance’ Is Hollowing Out the PDP (and Who Stands to Gain)

Nyesom Wike — Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister and heavyweight ex-Rivers governor — is at the centre of a political drama that reads part strategy, part sabre-rattle and part sabotage. His public warmth toward the All Progressives Congress (APC), repeated taunts at PDP critics and refusal (so far) to be disciplined decisively by his party have created the appearance of a mole within PDP ranks — a development that has already helped trigger defections and internal fractures ahead of the 2027 elections. 

What’s happening — the short checklist

Wike serves as FCT Minister and has publicly praised President Tinubu’s administration while continuing to wield influence inside PDP circles. 

Several PDP governors and leaders have recently defected to the APC or face pressure to do so; Wike has gloated that these moves vindicate his posture. 

PDP disciplinary options have been slow, inconsistent or ineffective — feeding the narrative that Wike’s “romance” with APC is tolerated or instrumentally useful to players both inside and outside the party. 

Who is “using” Wike — plausible actors and motives

Elements inside APC (including the presidency):

A divided opposition benefits a dominant ruling party. Public signals that key PDP figures (or their allies) are open to cooperation with the APC lower the resistance barrier for defectors and legitimize cross-party rapprochement. Several outlets have reported that APC stands to gain from the widening PDP rift. This is a simple political logic: destabilise the opposition, pick off governors and leaders, and reduce the likelihood of a cohesive challenge in 2027. 

Rival camps inside PDP:

Politics is often internecine. Factions that see Wike as a rival may either weaponise his public ties to APC to sideline him, or secretly partner with external actors to weaken the opposing PDP bloc. Rivers State politics — the fallout between Wike and his erstwhile protege Governor Siminalayi Fubara — is one example where internal fights spilled into national consequence. 

Ambitious governors and powerbrokers:

Some governors reportedly defected or contemplated defection after concluding the national winds favoured APC; Wike’s vocal position makes it politically easier for them to switch without appearing purely opportunistic. In short: Wike’s posture provides political cover. 

Why hasn’t PDP simply suspended or expelled Wike?

There are three overlapping reasons that explain PDP’s measured response:

Wike’s political weight and patronage network. He is not a fringe voice; he controls loyalists and has national reach. Heavy-handed discipline risks an immediate split and loss of votes or structures in key states. (See: internal PDP friction and public statements from party actors.) 

Legal and procedural hurdles. Party disciplinary processes can be litigated and reversed; courts have already intervened in PDP internal matters (for example, rulings that halted party conventions), making the leadership cautious. A rushed expulsion could end up reversed in court and leave the party looking weaker. 

Strategic ambiguity. Some in PDP may prefer to manage Wike quietly rather than push him fully into open defection. Keeping him formally inside allows the party to claim a big-tent posture while also trying to limit the damage — a tactic that often backfires when signals from the leader are inconsistent. 

What are the tangible consequences so far?

Wave of defections / realignment: Several governors and party leaders have crossed to APC or are publicly flirting with the idea — a development Wike has used to claim vindication for his stance. This weakens PDP’s electoral infrastructure ahead of 2027. 

Internal paralysis: The party’s inability to take decisive, unified action has allowed local crises (e.g., Rivers State tensions) to metastasize into national fractures. 

Labeling Wike strictly as a “mole” is useful for clickbait but blunt for real-world politics. What’s clearer is that his behaviour — outspoken praise for the ruling party, celebrated vindication when PDP governors defect, and refusal to be visibly sidelined — functions instrumentally for actors who benefit from a fractured opposition. Whether Wike is acting as a deliberate agent of APC strategy, an over-ambitious powerbroker pursuing his own leverage, or both, the outcome is identical: the PDP’s unity has been compromised, and the APC gains relative advantage. (This is an inference grounded in the observed defections and court interventions.) 

 This isn’t about loyalty — it’s about leverage: Wike’s gestures toward APC have become political camouflage for a messy power play that’s already hollowing out the PDP.