The newly-appointed Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, says he sought the counsel of key PDP leaders before accepting the ministerial offer extended by President Bola Tinubu.
Taking his oath of office on Monday alongside fellow ministers in the Bola Tinubu administration, Wike’s selection drew substantial public attention and sparked criticism due to his affiliation with the PDP.
This was further intensified by his previous statement in which he indicated his disinclination to assume a ministerial role after his tenure as a state governor.
In an effort to address these concerns and clarify his position, Wike spoke during his inaugural press conference as the new FCT Minister explained that he had proactively taken steps to engage with the leadership of the PDP, seeking their guidance and approval before embracing the ministerial responsibility.
In an elaborate sequence of correspondence, Wike communicated with pivotal figures within the PDP hierarchy. He composed letters to the Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Umar Damagun, the incumbent governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, as well as the Minority Leaders of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. In these letters, he earnestly sought their perspectives and authorization regarding the potential ministerial role.
Wike recounted during the press conference that each of the PDP leaders to whom he had reached out responded affirmatively, granting him their blessing to accept the offer. He articulated his belief in transparency and truthfulness, asserting his commitment to engaging earnestly with those who share these values.
Addressing the controversy surrounding his decision, Wike emphasized that the matter had been handled with due diligence and integrity. He highlighted that the process of selecting ministers involved contributions from all state governors, including those from the PDP, who had submitted nominations for consideration.
“Can you even mention who is my enemy? Can you even mention one person that is my enemy? See, people carry propaganda. Let me use this opportunity to tell you that I don’t like people who don’t tell the truth, Wike said.
“They said they’re going to sanction me because I accepted the appointment. I don’t have any clause. The president wrote to the 36 state governors to bring names of people to appoint, didn’t PDP governors submit names? Every PDP governor wrote a letter and nominated ten persons to be appointed by this government.
“But the one they talk about is Wike. Before this appointment came, I wrote to the national chairman. I wrote to the minority leaders of the House of Representatives and Senate.
“I wrote to the zonal chairman of the party and my state chairman. I wrote to my governor and all of them wrote me back and said accept.
“I have my evidence documented. Forget these reggae dancers. I call them reggae dancers because when you’ve lost your opportunity, you’ve lost your opportunity because of arrogance and impunity.”
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