Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has claimed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gave him the green light to accept the ministerial position under the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
Wike, the immediate former governor of Rivers State, was among the 45 ministers officially sworn into Tinubu’s cabinet on Monday.
However, the former governor’s appointment stirred public criticism due to his membership in the opposition PDP and an earlier statement indicating his reluctance to assume a ministerial position after his governorship term.
In his inaugural press conference as the FCT Minister, Wike said that Tinubu wrote the 36 state governors, including those of the PDP, who, according to him, gave 10 names to the president to appoint as ministers.
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I got PDP’s approval to serve in Tinubu’s cabinet — Wike
He said: “Can you even mention who is my enemy? Can you even mention one person that is my enemy?” Wike said at his first press briefing.
“See, people carry propaganda. Let me use this opportunity to tell you that I don’t like people who don’t tell the truth. 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 Reps 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.”