- Describes development as unfortunate
BY EVELYN DADU – The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has endorsed the decision by the Rivers State House of Assembly members to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Wike, who maintained that the lawmakers were free to leave the troubled party, however denied having foreknowledge about their planned defection.
Addressing journalists after inspecting the ongoing construction of an interchange bridge connecting Maitama, Gishiri, Jahi, and Gwarimpa in Abuja, the Minister described the departure of the lawmakers as “unfortunate,” noting that the current internal crisis within the opposition party largely contributed to their exit.
A statement by the Minister’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, quoted him as saying: “Well, it’s unfortunate. I have always said that everybody has the right to make a choice. The party is fully factionalised. And the requirement of the Constitution is that when a party is factionalised, they are allowed to leave the party.
“You will see that it’s not everybody who has left. I believe 16 or 17 of them have left out of 27. We still have a good number, about 10, and we will continue to work together”
I Didn’t Know They Are Defecting
Interestingly, the FCT Minister denied knowing about the planned defection of the lawmakers, saying: “They never told me, but they have a right.”
According to him, the latest development notwithstanding, he still remains a member of the PDP, and urged the party to put its house in order.
Hear him: “I’m still in the PDP. So those who have remained, we’ll continue to work together. And I have said to the party, ‘Put your house in order. Because at the end of the day, if you don’t put your house in order, it’s the party that will lose’.
“And we still ask the party to work together to see how the remaining members will be a relevant opposition. But they chose not to.
“So for me, those who have left are free. But those who remain in the party, we will continue to work together.”
On Friday, December 5, 2025, the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, announced his defection with 16 other lawmakers from the PDP to the ruling APC during the Assembly plenary.
Citing divisions in the PDP as the reason for their defection, he also pledged support for President Bola Tinubu come 2027, saying the President “means well for the country”.
