APC Secretary Declares Wike ‘Not a Member,’ Demands His Resignation as Rivers Crisis Deepens

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Nigeria’s political landscape was jolted on Monday as the National Secretary of the All-Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru, publicly declared that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is not a member of the ruling party and therefore has no authority to interfere in its internal affairs.

Basiru’s statement, widely described as unprecedented, follows recent warnings by Wike cautioning APC officials to stay out of Rivers State politics. In a sharply worded response, the APC scribe insisted that party records do not recognise the former Rivers State governor as a member of the APC.

“For the avoidance of doubt, our records indicate that Minister Nyesom Wike is not a member of our party, the APC, and so he lacks the locus to dabble into the affairs of our party,” Basiru said.

Escalating the confrontation, Basiru called on Wike to resign from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s cabinet if he continues to use his ministerial position to influence or destabilise the party in Rivers State.

“My advice to Nyesom Wike is that he cannot be in the Federal Executive Council of an APC government and at the same time be causing confusion within any organ or structure of the party at any level, using the leverage of that same office. The honourable thing to do is to resign his appointment as minister,” he stated.

Basiru also dismissed suggestions that Wike’s support for President Tinubu during the 2023 general elections automatically confers APC membership on him, noting that electoral support does not equate to party affiliation.

“Millions of Nigerians who are not members of the APC also supported Mr President,” he added.
The latest exchange stems from Basiru’s earlier criticism of the APC South-South Zonal Vice Chairman, Victor Giadom, whom he accused of showing disrespect to Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The APC national leadership recently recognised Fubara as the party’s leader in Rivers State following his political realignment with the ruling party.

Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers State and a prominent figure in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who has not formally defected to the APC, has in recent weeks intensified political activities across the state. He has been touring local government areas, mobilising loyalists and issuing stern warnings against what he describes as external interference in River’s politics.

Political analysts say the public clash marks one of the most serious challenges yet to Wike’s influence within the Tinubu administration, exposing growing fault lines within the APC as the party prepares for off-cycle elections and looks ahead to the 2027 general polls.

As tensions escalate, pressure is mounting on President Tinubu to intervene and address the widening rift between a key member of his cabinet and the national leadership of his party.

With neither side showing signs of backing down, the Rivers political crisis appears set to intensify in the coming days.