THE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday mocked his political critics, saying those who once condemned him for working with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have now defected to the same party.
Wike, a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been serving in the APC-led Federal Government since 2023, a move that drew sharp criticism from within his own party.
News Point Nigeria reports that speaking at the flag-off ceremony for the construction of the main carriageways on the Outer Southern Expressway in Abuja, the 57-year-old former Rivers State governor took a swipe at his detractors, describing them as “hypocrites” who have now followed the very path they accused him of taking.
“I have been watching on daily television and social media, people who said I want to destabilise the party, I am working for the APC,” Wike said.
“All of them are now in the APC. So, which means if it is true, they should commend me for working for where they are heading. So, I should be commended for doing a good job for them.”
Wike, who played a controversial but influential role in the 2023 presidential election, was widely credited for helping deliver votes to President Tinubu in Rivers State despite being a PDP member.
His actions deepened divisions within the PDP, leading to a prolonged internal crisis that has since culminated in the defection of several governors and party stalwarts to the APC.
The former Rivers governor insisted that his decision to support President Tinubu was guided by conviction, not opportunism, and that the recent defections vindicated his earlier political choices.
Wike’s comments come amid a fresh wave of high-profile defections that have further weakened the opposition PDP.
On Tuesday, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State publicly announced his defection to the APC. He was joined by his commissioners, 17 local government chairpersons, councillors, and nearly 80 percent of the state’s PDP executive members.
Barely 24 hours later, Governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa State also declared his intention to leave the PDP, saying his decision was taken for “obvious reasons”, though he did not disclose his next political destination.
In the past six months alone, the PDP has lost no fewer than four governors to the ruling APC. They include Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta State), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom State), Peter Mbah (Enugu State), and Duoye Diri (Bayelsa State).
For Wike, however, the development is more than political vindication, it is, in his words, proof that history has sided with him.
“Those who said I betrayed the PDP are now where they accused me of going,” Wike told the cheering crowd. “If that is betrayal, then I have done them a favour.”
The FCT Minister, who has earned praise for his rapid infrastructural push in Abuja, vowed to continue delivering on President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, adding that leadership should be judged by performance, not party affiliation.
