By Kamil Opeyemi
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has dared the leadership of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to suspend or discipline him.
Wike, who spoke exclusively on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday, said he has not seen the party chieftain who will suspend or expel him from the party.
“Who will discipline me? I should be the one calling for the discipline of these people who violated the party’s constitution, in the way that the party supported rotation.
“Who will suspend me? I want to dare anybody,” Wike said.
The PDP powerbroker and member of the G5 group within the main opposition party said he owed no one an apology for supporting power shift to southern Nigeria.
“We are just waiting for the presidential panel to finish, you will know who actually are those who are working well for the party.
“How can anybody talk about expelling me? A state that brought a governor? A state that brought three senators? A state that produced 32 House of Assembly members? A state that produced 11 out of 13 House of Representatives.
“The person that would suspend me is the one that couldn’t produce a governor, is the one that couldn’t produce three senators.
“I have not seen that person, with all due respect. Nobody will do it. So, the issue of they will do it does not arise.”
Speaking about his appointment as Minister by President Bola Tinubu, the former governor of Rivers State said he informed PDP leadership before he took the ministerial offer under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to him, governors on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nominated persons for appointment in the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
He said the APC government wrote all the governors of the ruling party and the main opposition party for nominations for political posts.
“I never said PDP governors nominated ministers; I never said so. I said this (Tinubu) government wrote to all the government of PDP and APC to nominate people for appointment.
“PDP governors nominated people for appointments. Appointment is appointment both as Boards and Commissions.
“I challenged anybody who is a governor of PDP that never wrote any letter to this government for so and so people to be appointment under this government. Nobody has come to challenge me,” Wike said
Wike, who said he remained a PDP member with no plan to join the APC, said he is only working for the success of the Tinubu government as FCT minister.
“I want to support Asiwaju (Tinubu) to finish well,” he added