The All Progressives Congress has defended the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, saying he has the constitutional freedom to campaign for any candidate in any political party.
Speaking on Morning Brief on Channels Television on Monday, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, addressed the controversy surrounding Wike’s support for APC candidates in the February 21 FCT Area Council elections.
“If Nyesom Wike wants to go on campaigning for any candidate in any party whatsoever, he has the inherent liberty to do so.
“Wike is a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who also has freedom guaranteed by the Constitution. He has the right to support any candidate he wants,” Morka said.
The remarks follow scrutiny of Wike’s role in the polls, which saw the APC win five of the six area councils in the Federal Capital Territory.
Two Peoples Democratic Party chairmanship candidates — Julius Adamu in Bwari and Zadna Dantani in Abuja Municipal Area Council — withdrew from the race and publicly endorsed their APC rivals after reported interventions by Wike.
The PDP National Working Committee condemned the withdrawals as “shameful” and “anti-democratic.” The party claimed the endorsements were induced without its consent and described the development as a “forced consensus.”
Wike’s open backing of APC candidates has sparked debate about party loyalty, cross-carpeting and the limits of political allegiance in Nigeria’s multi-party democracy.
However, Morka maintained that Wike’s actions represent the exercise of fundamental rights under the 1999 Constitution rather than an APC-driven political strategy.
President Bola Tinubu on Sunday commended the minister’s role in the APC’s victories in the FCT elections and the by-elections held in Rivers State.
