A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and federal lawmaker, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has urged party leaders and governors to engage the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, through dialogue over his political activities ahead of the 2027 elections.
Jibrin made the call on Wednesday while responding to journalists’ questions in Abuja on criticism of Wike’s Rainbow Coalition initiative by some APC governors.
He said Wike had contributed to efforts to secure support for President Bola Tinubu, despite remaining a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“There is no APC member in Nigeria today that has not directly or indirectly benefited from the efforts of Wike, so long as he is delivering the President, also managing the government, and also performing his work,” Jibrin said.
He described Wike as an asset to the ruling party and advised against publicly attacking him.
“Wike is an asset to the APC. I don’t think Wike should be embarrassed at this moment with public statements,” he said.
Jibrin said his intervention was not based on a close personal relationship with Wike but on his concern about maintaining support for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
“I have met him just twice accidentally, so I’m not holding any brief for Wike. But I think anything that is going to touch on the stability of the journey towards delivering the President, I like to make my intervention,” he said.
The lawmaker also claimed that Wike had made political concessions in support of the APC, including in Rivers State and the FCT.
“I believe that Wike has sacrificed. He handed over Rivers to APC. Wike had candidates in FCT elections but asked them to step down for APC. Wike came into this government as the government of national unity. In reality, we should be fair to him; he has done far more than that,” he said.
Jibrin noted that politicians belonging to other parties could support a presidential candidate without formally joining the candidate’s party.
“There are people who are in other parties who are working with us in the NDC, in the ADC. Some of them called me yesterday, saying, ‘Look at what they are saying about Wike,'” he said.
He urged APC governors who had concerns about Wike’s activities to discuss them with him rather than making public statements.
“If there is a problem at the state level, the entire coalition that he is doing is for the President. If anybody at the subnational level feels it may work against him or his interest, they should discuss with Wike,” Jibrin said.
He added that Wike’s continued membership of the PDP while supporting Tinubu’s re-election should not, in his view, prevent political cooperation.
Jibrin’s comments followed recent criticism of Wike’s Rainbow Coalition activities by some APC governors, including Kwara Sta
