FCT poll: Wike has right to back any candidate – APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has defended the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over his open support for the party’s candidates in the February 21 FCT Area Council elections, insisting that Speaking on Morning Brief, a programme on Channels Television, on Monday, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka insisted that Wike […]

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has defended the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over his open support for the party’s candidates in the February 21 FCT Area Council elections, insisting that

Speaking on Morning Brief, a programme on Channels Television, on Monday, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka insisted that Wike is constitutionally entitled to campaign for any candidate of his choice.

Dismissing criticisms trailing Wike’s involvement in the polls, Morka said: “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.”

The FCT minister, a former governor of Rivers State and a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had publicly backed APC candidates during the council elections — a move that generated controversy within his party and among political observers.

The APC secured victory in five of the six area councils contested in the polls.

The controversy deepened after two PDP chairmanship candidates — Julius Adamu in Bwari Area Council and Zadna Dantani in Abuja Municipal Area Council — withdrew from the race and endorsed their APC counterparts. The withdrawals reportedly followed political interventions linked to Wike.

Reacting, the PDP National Working Committee described the development as “shameful” and “anti-democratic,” alleging that the withdrawals were induced without the party’s approval and amounted to what it termed a “forced consensus.”

However, Morka rejected suggestions that Wike’s actions were part of a coordinated APC strategy.

“What he has done is an exercise of his fundamental rights,” the APC spokesman said, adding that political participation and support across party lines remain protected under the 1999 Constitution.

Wike’s involvement in the FCT elections has reignited debate over party loyalty, cross-party collaboration and the limits of political alignment within Nigeria’s multi-party democracy.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu on Sunday commended the FCT minister for his role in the APC’s victories in the council elections and in the recent by-elections held in Rivers State, further underscoring the political significance of the outcome.