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A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and federal lawmaker, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has described FCT Minister Nyesom Wike as an asset to the ruling party, urging APC leaders to address their differences with him without public attacks.
Jibrin made the remarks on Wednesday night while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, amid growing disagreements between Wike and some APC governors over his continued membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
The Kano lawmaker said Wike’s political activities had contributed to the APC-led administration and Tinubu’s political project, arguing that members of the ruling party had benefited directly or indirectly from his efforts.
“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,” Jibrin declared.
“Wike is an asset to the APC. I don’t think Wike should be embarrassed at this moment with public statements,” he said, adding, “Wike is an asset to APC; he has sacrificed so much for the President and the APC.”
Jibrin said his intervention was not based on a personal relationship with Wike but on his concern about maintaining political stability around efforts to secure Tinubu’s second term.
“And secondly, he made a huge sacrifice. As I talk to you, before 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’m Honourable Jibrin, 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 explained.
The former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation cited Wike’s role in the political realignment in Rivers State and his alleged intervention in the FCT elections as examples of what he described as sacrifices for the ruling party.
“I believe that Wike has sacrificed; he handed over Rivers to APC, Wike had candidates [in the] FCT election but asked them to step down for APC.
“Wike came into this government as [part of the] government of national unity. In reality, we should be fair to him; he has done far more than that,” he said.
He also argued that Wike’s continued membership of the PDP while supporting Tinubu should not, in itself, be treated as incompatible with working towards the President’s re-election, noting that politicians in other parties were also involved in the broader political mobilisation.
“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 stated.
Jibrin urged APC governors who disagree with Wike to resolve their concerns through direct discussions rather than public criticism.
His comments followed the APC Governors Forum’s recent declaration that its members would not support political arrangements capable of weakening the party or undermining its candidates in the 2027 elections.
“For the governors, they should take Wike as part of them. You call Wike the number 32 governor and Adeleke the number 33 governor of the APC; 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, but I do not think Wike should be embarrassed by statements,” he stated.
Jibrin’s comments come as Wike and APC governors remain divided over the Rainbow Coalition, with Wike maintaining that his political mobilisation is aimed at supporting Tinubu while the APC Governors Forum has insisted that its campaign structure will support only APC candidates.
