“I Helped APC Use Judiciary To Kill Osun LG Funds Case’”; Wike Boasts
Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has openly boasted that he assisted certain elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in deploying the judiciary to frustrate the Osun State local government allocation lawsuit. In a video now circulating widely on social media and obtained by SaharaReporters, Wike made the claim while addressing a crowd in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The former Rivers governor accused the APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, of benefitting from judicial actions against the Osun State Government without knowing those who did the work behind the scenes. The suit in question led to the withholding of local government funds in Osun State, a development widely seen as targeting the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke as opposition in the state. Wike, who spoke angrily, suggested that the court action supporting the APC’s position against the Osun government did not happen by chance, boasting that powerful political forces worked quietly to ensure the outcome. “Don’t take our support for Mr President for granted,” Wike warned, in an apparent message to APC leaders defending Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara. “You have to be careful about the statements you make. You have to be very careful.” He accused Basiru of political ingratitude, claiming the APC was enjoying in Osun State without understanding who engineered their advantage. “Today, you are enjoying in Osun. You don’t know those who did the work,” Wike said. “You are opening your mouth to talk about Rivers State.” In a further cryptic remark, the FCT minister added, “Anything you see, take it. Anything you see, what? Take it.” Naija News House had earlier reported that the National Secretary of the APC, Senator Basiru, had asked Wike to immediately resign his appointment and face his obsession with Rivers State politics. The APC secretary made the call in a statement signed on Monday, following what he described as a tirade by Wike against his person and office as APC National Secretary. According to Basiru, Wike is not a member of the APC and therefore lacks the locus standi to dabble into the party’s internal affairs, particularly in Rivers State. “My attention has been drawn to the tirade of the Minister of the FCT against my person and my office as the National Secretary of the APC,” Basiru said. “This is as regards my position that all members of the NWC must accord any sitting Governor his due respect and that the Governors remain the leaders of the Party in their States. It is shocking that such an innocuous statement can elicit such uncouth responses from no less than a member of the Federal Executive Council.” He expressed shock that what he described as an innocuous statement could provoke what he termed uncouth responses from a serving member of the Federal Executive Council. “For the avoidance of doubt, our records indicate that Minister Nyesom Wike is not a member of our Party (APC) so he lacks the locus to dabble into the affairs our Party,” Basiru stated. “As National Secretary of the APC, I am imbued with the responsibility to protect the interests of the Party and all its members and structures.” Basiru dismissed claims that his comments on Rivers APC amounted to interference, stressing that his responsibilities are national in scope and not limited to his home state of Osun. On December 5, 2025, SaharaReporters reported that the Supreme Court had criticised the Bola Tinubu-led government for withholding Osun State’s local government funds, even as it faulted the Osun State Government for instituting the action on behalf of the 30 councils without proper authorisation. In its majority judgment, the Apex Court held that the Osun State Attorney General had no legal right to file the suit on behalf of the local governments. It ruled that “those who won the local government election and having been inaugurated are the jurisdict persons that can sue and be sued directly.” While faulting the Federal Government, the Court simultaneously reprimanded Osun State for initiating the suit without proof of consent from the councils. Justice Idris ruled that since “there was no evidence that Osun Attorney General was briefed by the local governments, he ought not to have filed the case on their behalf.” In a minority judgment, Justice Emmanuel Agim disagreed with the majority, insisting that the Osun Attorney General had the authority to file the suit. He added that the Federal Government’s action was unacceptable, saying it was “in bad taste because it was capable of crippling the activities of the Councils.”
