The North-Central All Progressives Congress, APC, Forum has opposed calls for the resignation of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike.
The Forum also kicked against calls on President Bola Tinubu to sack the minister.
National Secretary of the APC, Senator Ajibola Basiru, recently asked Wike to resign his appointment as minister and concentrate on his obsession with the politics of Rivers State.
Basiru made the statement after Wike warned him against dabbling in the political affairs of Rivers State, where the FCT minister is engaged in a political battle with Governor Sim Fubara.
Some Nigerians, who feel displeased with Wike’s activities in Rivers State, have also urged President Tinubu to sack him as FCT minister, or redeploy him to another ministry. The Ijaw National Congress, INC, West African Chapter, had urged Tinubu to redeploy Wike to the Ministry of Niger Delta.
Reacting to the developments in a statement by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, on Monday, the North-Central APC Forum said Wike should be left alone to continue his work in the FCT, which it described as part of the North-Central.
The Forum noted that since Wike’s became minister of the FCT, the pace of development in the territory has improved with the execution of key infrastructure projects under his watch.
According to the Forum, calls for Wike’s resignation, or his removal, amount to attempt to derail the development of the FCT, and throw away the gains recorded in the territory by the Tinubu administration.
The APC Forum stressed that it has no interest in the political crisis in Rivers State, as, according to it, it’s only concern was the development of the FCT and by extension, the North-Central. The group equally said it has no interest to join issues with the APC leaders who have called for Wike’s resignation.
But it warned those behind the calls to desist, to avoid mass protests in the FCT.
Parts of the statement read, “The North-Central All Progressives Congress, APC, Forum rejects calls for the resignation of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike. The minister is performing well in the FCT under an APC administration and we frown at such calls, especially as it concerns the development of the FCT, which is part of the North-Central.
“Some people stayed eight years as FCT minister without anything to show for it but under two years Wike has turned the FCT around. Yet some people who we believe are serving their selfish interests are calling for his resignation. This is highly condemnable and we will not allow it, even if the calls are coming from leaders of the party.
“It is wrong for anybody who is considered as a party leader to be calling for Wike’s resignation on the grounds that he is not a member of the APC.
“We don’t want to join issues with the persons that are making these calls but we advise them to back off.
“Wike is somebody that has added value to this administration, especially when it comes to infrastructural development in the FCT. It is offensive and deeply worrisome to us that people who are supposed to be leaders of the party, particularly the national secretary and the national chairman, are antagonizing him by asking him to resign.
“We believe that those making this call, as well as others calling for Wike’s sack, do not mean well for President Bola Tinubu’s administration. They also do not want the development of this country.
“As for us in the North-Central APC Forum, what we are after is the development of our region, and we know that Mr President is only interested in the development of the country, to which Wike is contributing a lot.”
The Forum disclosed that it had already extended appreciation to Wike his infrastructural projects in the FCT.
“Last year we sent a commendation letter to the FCT minister for his developmental strides in the FCT, which we believe has impacted the development of the North-Central.
“We are warning these businessmen politicians to desist from distracting the FCT minister by calling for his resignation. We are not concerned with the issues in Rivers State and we are warning that even if they are collecting money to take sides in what is going on in Rivers, they should not use that to distract the minister of the FCT.”
The Forum stressed that Wike contributed more to the victory of the APC in the 2023 presidential election than most of the party’s leaders.
“None of them calling for his resignation contributed as much as Wike to the coming of this administration, even though he is not a member of the party.
“The national chairman and the national secretary know that they did not contribute as much as Wike to the emergence of the President Bola Tinubu administration. So they should not be saying that he is not a member of the party.”
The North-Central APC Forum urged Wike to ignore the calls, and continue his work in the FCT.
“We urge the minister to ignore these calls, no matter where they are coming from, and continue developing the FCT,” the statement added.