Politics

Wike, AbdulRazaq Rift: ‘There Is Something Fishy’ – Kwara NBA Chairman

Published September 12, 2026 at 8:04 AM

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Minister Nyesom Wike

Key Takeaways

NBA Ilorin branch Chairman, Jimoh Muhammed, said the Wike-AbdulRazaq rift looks “fishy”, but stressed he spoke personally, not for the association.
FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, accused Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, of leading a political campaign against him and said he confronted him over it.
Jimoh Muhammed said he had not seen any Federal Government statement condemning Wike’s attack, and urged caution, citing both men’s constitutional right to speak.

The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ilorin branch, Jimoh Muhammed, has weighed in on the reported disagreement between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

Muhammed, however, stressed that his comments were made in his personal capacity as a lawyer and did not represent the official position of the NBA Ilorin branch.

His reaction followed Wike’s recent criticism of AbdulRazaq during a media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Wike had alleged that the Kwara governor was among those leading efforts against him politically.

“Take for example, Kwara, he has been the one championing this campaign against me everywhere. Yes, I have confronted him too. I don’t talk about what I cannot defend,” the minister said.

Wike also claimed that AbdulRazaq had accused him of sponsoring political candidates opposed to the governor’s preferred choices in Kwara.

He further argued that the governor should appreciate his decision to provide a political platform for some aggrieved APC members who left the ruling party for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rather than joining groups opposed to President Bola Tinubu.

Commenting on the disagreement in an interview with Vanguard, Muhammed said the reasons behind the strained relationship were best known to Wike and AbdulRazaq.

“I’m not speaking in my capacity as the NBA chairman Ilorin branch, I’m speaking as a lawyer. The issue between FCT Minister and Kwara State governor is best known to both of them,” he said.

The lawyer noted that political differences could exist between the two men, but expressed concern that both Wike and AbdulRazaq belong to the same political establishment.

“There may be political issues, political differences between the two of them. Okay? So FCT minister who is having a daily bread from APC and at the same time attacking the state governor who is also APC, there must be something fishy between the two of them,” Muhammed stated.

Muhammed also questioned the absence of an apparent public response from the Federal Government regarding Wike’s criticism of the governor.

He said, “And since that issue happened, up to today I’ve not heard or seen any press statement from the government at the national level condemning the act or attitude of FCT Minister.”

The NBA chairman urged caution in assessing the dispute, noting that both politicians had constitutional rights to express their views.

“So one has to be careful in handling the issue. In his own right, if FCT Minister sees something that is not okay, he has freedom of speech and the governor himself knows what he is doing. That is the way I see it,” he added.