Nyesom Wike, the newly sworn-in Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has stated that he cannot face sanctions from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for accepting a ministerial position offered by President Bola Tinubu. Wike, the former Governor of Rivers State, made this assertion during his inaugural press conference at the FCT Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday.
Wike, a member of the opposition PDP, had been one of the 45 ministerial nominees screened and approved by the Senate several weeks ago. Prior to his appointment, he, along with some PDP leaders, had been involved in activities that went against the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, during the 2023 election, leading to Atiku’s defeat.
Before his appointment, there had been calls from certain PDP members for Wike’s suspension due to his association with members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his acceptance of the ministerial offer.
In response to these calls, Wike stated on Monday that he had received consent from PDP leaders at both the national and state levels before accepting the ministerial position. He regarded the idea of his suspension as absurd and highlighted that he had communicated with the acting PDP National Chairman, Iliya Damagum, regarding his intention to be part of Tinubu’s cabinet, and received approval.
Furthermore, Wike emphasized that President Tinubu had reached out to all 36 state governors, including those from the PDP, to propose names for cabinet appointments. Wike clarified, “Didn’t PDP governors submit names? Every PDP governor wrote a letter and nominated ten persons for appointment in this (Tinubu’s) government. Before this appointment came, I wrote to the national party chairman, minority leader of the House of Representatives and Senate, zonal chairman of the party, my state chairman, and my governor. All of them wrote me back: ‘Accept it’. I have it documented as evidence.”
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