The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has defended the inclusion of a person under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in President Bola Tinubu’s campaign structure for the 2027 presidential election.
Wike argued that being investigated by the EFCC does not automatically bar an individual from participating in political activities or canvassing votes for a candidate. The minister spoke on Wednesday during a media parley he hosted, which was aired on Channels Television.
His comments followed controversy over the inclusion of former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, in the campaign structure for Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Edu was listed as the Director of Women Mobilisation in the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council. She was suspended by President Tinubu in January 2024 following allegations of financial impropriety and was subsequently investigated by the EFCC.
Wike questioned the criticism surrounding her appointment, arguing that an ongoing investigation should not be equated with a conviction. “You (the media) were asking the moral justification of putting someone who has an EFCC case to be in a campaign council,” Wike said.
He added that it would be inconsistent to prevent someone under investigation from campaigning while people who had faced criminal cases were allowed to contest elections. “Now, somebody cannot be in a campaign to canvass for votes for a particular person, but somebody who has an EFCC case can contest an election and win an election?” he asked.
Wike noted that there had been instances where individuals facing criminal allegations contested elections and eventually won. “This person had an EFCC case in court, charged to court. He contested an election and became a governor,” he said, without identifying the person.
The former Rivers State governor further argued that even a person serving a prison sentence could express political support for a candidate. “Even a prisoner… maybe they have somebody in prison. I go and visit the person. The person can tell me, ‘My brother, I want you to support so-and-so candidate.’ A prisoner has canvassed for vote,” he said. Wike also referred to an unnamed individual allegedly linked to a coup plot, saying that the person had similarly participated in political mobilisation.
He questioned why someone being investigated by the EFCC should be barred from campaigning for a political candidate.
“I was watching, when Channels, when Sunrise, who came up to say, ‘Ah, how can somebody who’s being looked for as a coup plotter is now canvassing for votes for so-and-so government?’ Somebody EFCC is looking for is now canvassing for votes for so-and-so person,” Wike said.
He added, “But… a party, or a candidate, simply because EFCC is investigating the person, cannot be a member of the campaign council to campaign for votes.”
