A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Umar Sani, has described the recent outburst by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as an unconvincing attempt to justify the legitimacy of his faction within the party amid the lingering leadership crisis.

Speaking during the Arise Television’s Morning Show on Thursday, Sani alleged that Wike decided to personally address Nigerians after explanations offered by his loyalists failed to gain public acceptance.

According to him, Wike struggled to clearly explain the legal and political developments surrounding the PDP crisis, especially regarding conflicting court judgments.

Sani said Wike moved between references to the Federal High Court in Ibadan, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court judgment without providing clarity on the actual situation within the party.

He said: “This is a full disclosure of the whole truth, what is happening and where we are today now, Nyesom Wike’s outburst yesterday stems from the fact that he has sent, after the Supreme Court judge, most of his lieutenants to come out and explain to Nigerians, and they were not making sense to Nigerians.

And so the big masquerade decided to come out himself yesterday to try to explain to Nigerians why his own faction of the PDP is the most legitimate and the most authentic.

“However, he has tried albeit, you know, unconvincingly, to try to explain how we came about. He was oscillating between the judgment of the Ibadan Federal High Court, and the judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal in Abuja division, and, of course, the Supreme Court.

“So, he was not able to clearly put the cards on the table for Nigerians to be able to understand what is actually going on,” Sani said.

The PDP chieftain’s remarks followed Wike’s explosive media parley in Abuja on Wednesday, where the FCT minister launched attacks on several top PDP figures, including Seyi Makinde, Adolphus Wabara, Jerry Gana and Aminu Turaki.

Wike accused the party leaders of fraudulent conduct and questioned their moral standing in handling the affairs of the PDP.

The FCT minister also expressed disappointment in Makinde, alleging that the Oyo State governor had become involved in what he described as “419 activities” within the party.