Nentawe Yilwatda, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) approved Nyesom Wike’s appointment as a minister in the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Yilwatda spoke on Wednesday during a media chat in Abuja while responding to questions on Wike’s role as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister in the APC-led administration.
“The question I was asked yesterday: ‘Why is Wike in PDP and working under our government?’ And I said it is not strange,” he said.
The APC chairman cited examples of past administrations appointing opposition members to government positions.
“Bala Mohammed, the governor of Bauchi, was the minister of FCT,” he said.
“He was in ANPP, and President Jonathan discovered that he was good enough to be minister of FCT. He borrowed him from ANPP and made him the minister of FCT.
“Aliero, the former governor of Kebbi, he was in ANPP. After leaving the government house in 2007, he became a senator.
“While there, President Yar’Adua, in PDP, appointed him to be the minister of FCT because they felt he can bring good governance, his experience, exposure to the FCT.”
Yilwatda said the criticism of Tinubu over Wike’s appointment is misplaced.
“So, what’s wrong if President Tinubu is doing what two former presidents have done and nobody condemned what they did?” he asked.
“And everybody is hitting President Tinubu for bringing Wike from PDP to come and serve in the APC government.
“And not just him alone, why not hammering on the minister of state of foreign affairs (Bianca Ojukwu)? She is from the APGA, and she serves in our government; nobody has mentioned her.
“People are just bothered about Wike. Why Wike only?”
He said Wike sought and obtained approval from the PDP before accepting the ministerial appointment.
“Most importantly, let me just put the facts across to you,” he said.
“Wike wrote the national working committee of PDP in 2023, before he took over the ministerial appointment, if he could take the appointment with APC.
“The national working committee of PDP approved that he should come and serve with us. So, he is serving with us with the approval of the national working committee of PDP, not APC.
“So, it was PDP that approved that Wike should work with the APC. So, we are just obeying what the national working committee of PDP has done.”
