Abdulmumin Jibrin, a federal lawmaker and leader of the All Progressives Congress, has stated that Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, is still a valuable member of the ruling party and should not be humiliated in public.
In response to criticism from certain APC governors about Wike’s ongoing membership in the Peoples Democratic Party and his support for President Bola Tinubu’s ambition for a second term, Jibrin made this statement on Wednesday nite while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He went on to say that no member of the ruling party could deny having profited from Wike’s efforts to install President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“As long as delivering the President, managing the government, and carrying out his work, there is no APC member in Nigeria today who has not benefited directly or indirectly from Wike’s efforts,” Jibrin said.
The Kano legislator stated that rather than being publicly criticised, Wike’s services to Tinubu’s political vision and the APC-led government should be acknowledged.
“The APC benefits from Mike. He remarked, “I don’t think Wike should be ashamed of his public remarks right now.”
“Wike is an asset to APC; he has sacrificed so much for the President and the APC,” he emphasised further.
Jibrin clarified that his intervention was motivated by his concern for preserving the stability of efforts to secure Tinubu’s second term rather than a personal connection with the FCT Minister.
“Secondly, he gave up a great deal. I don’t know Wike, but he knows me from a distance, and I know him from a distance. If I see him, I know he’s Wike, and if he sees me, he will know I’m Honourable Jibrin. I’ve only met him twice by accident, so I don’t have any brief for Wike, but I think I like to intervene in anything that will affect the stability of the path toward delivering the President,” he said.
The former chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations also mentioned what he called Wike’s political sacrifices, such as his support for the ruling party in the Federal Capital Territory and his part in the political realignment that bolstered the APC in Rivers State.
“I think Wike has made a sacrifice; he gave the APC Rivers, and he had candidates in the FCT election but requested them to resign for the APC. Wike joined this administration as a member of the national unity government. He said, “In actuality, we should be fair to him; he has done far more than that.”
Noting that politicians outside the APC were also supporting Tinubu’s political ambition, Jibrin contended that Wike’s choice to stay in the PDP while endorsing the President should not be viewed as exceptional.
“There are individuals from other parties who collaborate with us in the ADC and NDC. “Look at what they are saying about Wike,” he said after some of them called him yesterday.
Instead of condemning Wike in public, he advised APC governors who disagree with him to speak with him in private.
“The governors ought to include Wike in their group. You refer to Wike as the APC’s number 32 governor and Adeleke as its number 33 governor; if there is an issue at the state level, the entire coalition he is leading is for the President; if anyone at the subnational level believes it could work against him or his interests, they should talk to Wike, but I don’t think Wike should be ashamed of statements,” he said.
Jibrin’s remarks coincided with criticism of Wike by some APC governors, such as Hope Uzodimma of Imo State and AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, regarding the minister’s continued PDP membership while rallying support for Tinubu’s 2027 reelection campaign through the “Rainbow Coalition.”
Citing the APC’s success in five of the six Area Councils in the recently concluded FCT elections, the legislator insisted that Wike’s political backing had resulted in electoral victories for the ruling party.
