The national chairman of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, has said that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) approved the appointment of former Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike as a minister in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet.
Speaking on the matter, Yilwatda claimed that Wike formally wrote to the PDP National Working Committee in 2023 to seek permission before accepting a ministerial position in the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
According to him, the PDP leadership gave its approval for Wike to serve in the federal cabinet despite being a prominent figure within the opposition party.
“Wike wrote the national working committee of PDP in 2023, before he took over the ministerial appointment, if he could take the appointment with APC,” Yilwatda was quoted as saying.
He added that the PDP’s National Working Committee approved the request, insisting that Wike’s participation in the government was sanctioned by the opposition party rather than the APC.
“So, he is serving with us with the approval of the national working committee of PDP, not APC,” he said.
Wike’s appointment has remained politically significant, given his high-profile role within the PDP and his later acceptance of a ministerial position in a rival-led administration, a move that has continued to draw political debate within Nigeria’s opposition landscape.
The APC is led by the ruling party All Progressives Congress, while the opposition claim involves the Peoples Democratic Party.
