A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and federal lawmaker, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has cautioned governors elected on the platform of the ruling party against publicly attacking or embarrassing the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
Jibrin, a former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, said Wike remained an important political stakeholder in the efforts to secure President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The Kano lawmaker spoke on Wednesday night while featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today, amid growing disagreements between Wike and some APC governors over the minister’s proposed Rainbow Coalition.
Defending Wike’s political contribution to the APC-led administration, Jibrin said members of the ruling party had benefited, directly or indirectly, from the minister’s efforts to support Tinubu and the government.
“There is no APC member in Nigeria today that has not directly or indirectly benefited from the efforts of Wike, so long as delivering the President, also managing the government, also performing his work, there is nobody,” he said.
Jibrin described Wike as an asset to the ruling party and said his contributions should be recognised rather than subjected to public criticism.
“Wike is an asset to APC, he has sacrificed so much for the President and the APC. I don’t think Wike should be embarrassed at this moment with public statements,” he said.
His comments followed criticism of Wike by some APC governors, particularly Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, over the minister’s initiative to build a cross-party Rainbow Coalition in support of Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections.
Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued to support Tinubu despite remaining outside the APC, a position that has generated debate among members of the ruling party.
Jibrin, however, argued that Wike had made significant political sacrifices in support of the President and the APC.
“Wike has sacrificed, he handed over Rivers to APC, Wike had candidates in the FCT Council election but asked them to step down for APC. Wike came into this government as government of national unity. In reality, we should be fair to him; he has done far more than that,” he said.
The lawmaker stressed that his intervention was not based on a personal relationship with Wike, explaining that he had only met the minister twice.
“As I talk to you, before the only God I worship, I don’t know Wike but he knows me from afar and I know him from afar. If I see him, I know he is Wike and if he sees me he will know I am Honourable Jibrin, I have met him just twice accidentally,” he said.
Jibrin said his position was informed by concerns about maintaining political stability around Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
“So I am 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 added.
He also noted that it was not unusual for politicians who belonged to opposition parties to support the governing party on particular political objectives.
“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,’” Jibrin said.
The lawmaker further cited the APC’s performance in the last FCT Area Council elections as evidence of the electoral value of political alliances, noting that the party won five of the six councils.
According to him, political calculations ultimately involve building numbers and securing electoral victories.
Jibrin therefore urged APC governors to engage Wike directly whenever they have concerns about his political activities, rather than resorting to public exchanges.
“For the governors, they should take Wike as part of them; you call Wike the number 32 governor and Adeleke number 33 governor of the APC,” he said.
He added: “If there is 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, but I do not think Wike should be embarrassed with statements.”
The intervention adds to growing calls within the APC for dialogue over the differences surrounding Wike’s Rainbow Coalition and its implications for the party’s structure and electoral strategy ahead of the 2027 general elections.
