Politics

Wike VS APC Govs: ‘Tinubu Beware Of Pretenders’ – Okechukwu

Published September 17, 2026 at 8:36 AM

Key Takeaways

A former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, urged President Bola Tinubu to ignore APC governors pressing him to distance himself from FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday, Okechukwu said the Wike–APC governors dispute should have been settled within APC caucuses, not debated publicly as an “elementary issue”.
Okechukwu argued Tinubu should keep Wike because his 2023 influence boosted APC votes and can supply extra support ahead of the 2027 elections.

A former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, has urged President Bola Tinubu to be cautious of calls by some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors for him to distance himself from the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

Naija News reports that Okechukwu said the disagreement over Wike’s political activities should have been resolved internally within the APC rather than being debated publicly.

The APC chieftain said this in Abuja on Wednesday, reacting to the growing disagreement between Wike and some APC governors over the minister’s political alignment ahead of the 2027 elections.

Okechukwu, who described himself as a veteran of party politics, questioned why the matter had become a public dispute.

He said, “In my 48 years in party politics, I have never seen where such an elementary issue was pretentiously thrown open. May I ask the governors: don’t you have access to Mr President, and what is the proverbial caucus meant for? My summation is simple: Mr President, beware of pretenders.

“To the best of my knowledge, some of these FPGs have wittingly or unwittingly used their electorate and recklessly abandoned them, and now want Mr President to dump Wike.

“Truly, it is improper for Mr President to dump Wike after we harvested the Wike masquerade, which not only boosted our great party’s votes in 2023, but also denied Atiku Abubakar substantial votes, and will mobilise voters in states where the FPGs had alienated the electorate by personalising power.”

Okechukwu also rejected the argument that Wike’s political activities could undermine APC governors’ role in Tinubu’s re-election campaign.

According to him, the President had not sidelined the governors but could benefit from additional political support in areas where the APC’s relationship with voters was strained.

“Mr. President has never overlooked the governors. All he wants is supplementary votes from Wike, especially in states where the electorate is angry and where some of the FPGs have alienated the people.

“The governors should concentrate on strengthening their relationship with the electorate rather than asking Mr. President to abandon a political alliance that could broaden the APC’s electoral reach,” he said.