… Says ‘we have structure to deliver Tinubu in 2027
… support for Fubara’s re-election conditional
Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has described leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State as not the automatic preserve of the state governor.
This comes against the backdrop of earlier claim to leadership of the party by Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers State, who upon being admitted into the APC on December 12, 2025, said his membership card read 001.
Wike, during a media chat in Port Harcourt on Monday December 29, 2025 said leadership of the party “is not about being governor,” but rather about having structure, while wondering, “how many people defected with him (Fubara).”
Wike, who insisted he is still a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), but did not say how long he will remain so, deflated the claim that Fubara is the automatic leader of the APC in Rivers State.
In reaction to the suggestion that he is against Fubara’s defection to the APC, he pointed out that he can not stop anyone from joining any party of their choice, adding however that agreements earlier reached should be honoured.
“What is 001? Let me tell you, there’s nothing like, in the state, 001. You register in your ward and your local government. It’s in your ward. So if you are 001, it is in your ward. There’s nothing like state registration called 001. Everybody register in his own ward. You could be the first person to register,” he said.
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Wike pointed to states in the federation where the leader of the ruling party is not the governor, such as Kano, insisting that, “leadership is not because I’m a governor. Leadership is not because I’m a minister. You must have something that makes you a leader.
“Today, if I say I want to go to APC, that will be the end of you talking about it. I’m not going to … You will see other states joining. Leaders in other states who are in PDP, will join. That’s what I call a leader, not leader that’s concentrated in the states.
“If Today I say, we have had enough of PDP, we have to move. Watch those who will decamp in Benue, watch those who will decamp in Plateau, watch those who will decamp in Abia, watch those who will decamp in Edo,” he said.
Using terms such as “economical with the truth” and suggestions of lack of maturity, Wike denied claims by Fubara that he did not broker peace meeting between the governor and members of the state House of Assembly.
He said he had brokered meetings between the governor and the Assembly, as well as between the governor and elders in the state, stressing that politics is about ‘give and take’.
“Why most people don’t trust politicians is this issue that people don’t keep to their words. And which is very wrong. I don’t want to be that politician. I want to be a politician that I have said something and go asleep, is what I have said.
“The governor cannot say that I have not brokered meeting between him, Speaker, and the leadership of the House. The governor cannot say that I have not brokered meeting between the elders.
“See, I’m a politician. There are certain steps you take. There are certain steps you take that people will know that indeed you are serious about this.
“Take for example, nobody told me to go and visit the Assembly. I have to say, look, I’m a politician. Assembly, I’m coming to visit you tomorrow, to say thank you for your support. I don’t need anybody to tell me that,” he said.
Wike urged the governor to seek genuine unity with the Assembly and other political actors in the state.
He further listed the building of trust, unity and synergy among political stakeholders in the state by Fubara as conditions that could garner support for a second term for the governor.
He said Fubara would do well to build synergy and a healthy working relationship with the state House of Assembly to ensure development is delivered to Rivers people.
