APC chieftain Farouk Aliyu says the ruling party will not allow the FCT minister’s public criticisms of its leaders to create divisions, while praising his performance in office.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Farouk Aliyu, has warned that the ruling party will not tolerate conduct capable of creating division within its ranks by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

Farouk made the position known on Thursday while responding to questions about Wike’s recent public comments on some APC leaders and the political activities surrounding the 2027 general elections.

Wike, a former governor of Rivers State and a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is currently serving as FCT Minister under the APC-led Federal Government. Despite his appointment, he has retained his membership of the PDP.

In recent weeks, Wike has openly criticised some APC governors, at one point describing them as “lazy” and “419ners.”

The minister has also been involved in efforts to promote a political coalition in Rivers State, known as the Rainbow Coalition, in support of President Bola Tinubu’s bid for a second term in 2027.

Reacting to Wike’s comments, Farouk said the APC could not be expected to tolerate behaviour within its ranks simply because similar disagreements had previously occurred between Wike and members of his former political camp in the PDP.

“Well, you see, I am not personally attacking Wike as a person, no.

“When Wike was doing that to his party, PDP, that’s his party really, but now this is our own party.

“So just because he did it to his party, you think we should condone doing it to our party? No, we will not condone it. Certainly, we will not.

“Whoever thinks that because Wike did that to his party, then we should allow him to do it to our party, we, as a party, shall not allow these kind of things to happen.”

Farouk, however, said his comments should not be interpreted as a personal attack on Wike. Instead, he described the issue as one concerning the stability and cohesion of the ruling party.

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He said President Tinubu would likely need to intervene by engaging Wike as well as other APC leaders to prevent disagreements from escalating publicly.

“And Mr. President is going to come back. Mr. President will have to certainly decide. I’m sure he will speak to Wike. He will speak to also our leaders. That look, we don’t need these things in public.”

Farouk praises Wike’s performance

The APC chieftain also rejected suggestions that party members were unhappy with Wike’s appointment as FCT Minister.

According to him, he was not aware of any organised opposition within the APC to Wike’s appointment and said the minister had made a significant impact in the nation’s capital.

“I am not aware that anybody is against him being appointed minister. Yes, I heard him saying that.

“We are happy with him being a minister because I don’t think in this country there has ever been a minister of FCT that has done what Wike has done or is doing.

“So we are happy with his performance absolutely, and he, as a minister, he’s been compensated with that position, and position of FCT minister is good and huge compensation in a political setting of this country.”

Farouk acknowledged that political rivalry and disagreements were inevitable but said he and many other APC members were not opposed to Wike because of his appointment.

“We are not quarrelling with that. He is compensated, and then of course there will be rivalry. Some people may not be happy with him, and so on.

“I and so many of us are not part of those that are not happy with Wike, or because he became a minister of the FCT,” he said.

He also acknowledged Wike’s role in the political developments that preceded the 2023 election, particularly his contribution to the APC’s performance in Rivers State and the FCT.

“It is true Wike also helped us to bring Rivers and also FCT at the last election,” Farouk added.

Tensions rise ahead of 2027

The comments come amid growing political differences involving Wike and some APC figures as politicians begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Although Wike remains a PDP member, his continued role in the APC-controlled Federal Government and his public support for Tinubu’s re-election have placed him at the centre of political discussions ahead of the next presidential election.

The development has also generated debate within the APC over the extent to which Wike should participate in the party’s political affairs while retaining his membership of the opposition PDP.

On Monday night, the Chairman of the APC’s Progressive Governors’ Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, said APC governors would not support any alliance or political arrangement that could undermine Tinubu’s re-election bid or weaken the ruling party ahead of 2027.

The latest comments by Farouk add to the growing calls within the APC for internal disagreements to be managed without allowing them to become a source of wider division as preparations for the 2027 elections intensify.