TheCable

Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), says he got approval from leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to accept President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial appointment.

Wike spoke on Monday in Abuja during his maiden press conference as the new FCT minister.

Wike, a member of the opposition PDP, was one of 45 ministerial nominees screened and confirmed by the senate.

Before his appointment by the president, there have been moves by some members of the PDP for the suspension of the former governor of Rivers over his association with members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his acceptance of the ministerial offer.

But Wike said he wrote to leaders of his party, including Iliya Damagum, the acting chairman of the PDP, and got their approval to be part of Tinubu’s cabinet. 

“They said they’ll sanction me that I took an appointment — that’s ridiculous,” he said.

“The president wrote to all the 36 state governors to bring names of people to appoint. Didn’t PDP governors submit names?

“Every PDP governor wrote a letter and nominated 10 persons for appointment in this (Tinubu’s) government.

“Before this appointment came, I wrote to the national party chairman, minority leader of the house of representatives and senate, zonal chairman of the party, my state chairman, and my governor.

“All of them wrote me back: ‘Accept it’. I have it in evidence documented.”

The PDP has been embroiled in a protracted internal crisis which has polarised the party.

The opposition party’s situation worsened in June last year after Wike lost the PDP presidential ticket to Atiku Abubakar.