By Joy Odor Reportcircle News
A simmering power struggle at the heart of Nigeria’s ruling party burst into open confrontation on Monday, as the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru, launched a blistering broadside against the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, demanding his immediate resignation from the Federal Executive Council.
In a sharply worded statement that read more like a political indictment than a routine party response, Basiru accused Wike of political trespass, blackmail, and calculated attempts to destabilise the APC in Rivers State despite not being a member of the party.
The clash was triggered by Wike’s public attack on Basiru following the APC scribe’s insistence that sitting governors must be accorded due respect as the recognised leaders of the party in their states.
What Basiru described as an “innocuous” position quickly escalated into a full-blown intra-elite confrontation.
“It is shocking,” Basiru said, “that such a simple statement could provoke such uncouth responses from no less than a member of the Federal Executive Council.”
At the core of the dispute lies Rivers State, a politically volatile battleground where control of party structures often determines electoral outcomes.
Basiru was unequivocal: Wike, according to APC records, is not a card-carrying member of the party and therefore lacks the standing to interfere in its internal affairs.
“As National Secretary of the APC, I am duty-bound to protect the interests of the party and its structures nationwide,” Basiru declared, rejecting suggestions that his comments amounted to interference in Rivers politics. “My responsibility does not stop at Osun State.”
The confrontation took a darker turn with Basiru’s response to allegations reportedly attributed to Wike that APC leaders were scrambling for a ₦600 billion “largesse” in Rivers State.
Basiru dismissed the claim as “cheap blackmail” and dared the FCT minister to provide proof.
“My record is one of unquestionable integrity,” he said, throwing down a legal gauntlet. “If he has evidence, let him produce it or we will meet in court.”
Basiru also brushed aside what he described as veiled threats from Wike, framing the dispute as a clash between political intimidation and democratic conviction.
In a pointed personal comparison, he reminded Wike of his own past as a pro-democracy activist during military rule.
“I am one of the young Nigerians who confronted military dictatorship,” Basiru said. “When some were nowhere in sight.”
The APC secretary further rejected any notion that Wike’s public support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu confers party membership or influence.
“Millions of Nigerians who are not APC members support the President,” Basiru noted. “His support is no different.”
In perhaps the most consequential line of the statement, Basiru accused Wike of importing the culture and tactics of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) into the APC, warning that such behaviour would not be tolerated.
The statement culminated in a blunt ultimatum: Wike cannot, Basiru argued, remain a minister in an APC-led government while allegedly sowing confusion within the party’s ranks.
“The honourable thing to do,” Basiru concluded, “is to resign his appointment as Minister.”
The public showdown exposes widening fault lines within the political coalition supporting President Tinubu, raising fresh questions about party discipline, cross-party alliances, and the limits of political accommodation in a post-election power landscape.
Whether Wike responds or escalates may determine just how deep this rift runs.
