Emergency Elections: Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has defended the political coalition between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that the alliance is within the law and a legitimate part of democratic practice.
Wike also addressed claims that elections conducted under emergency rule are unconstitutional, citing the Emergency Powers Act of 2004 to argue that such elections are legal.
Speaking during a live media chat in Abuja, the former Rivers State governor lashed out at sections of the media and analysts who, according to him, mislead the public out of ignorance. “The problem we have in this country is misinformation. It’s not my fault that you refuse to do your work. Sometimes I wonder when I see people on television, people I expect to have done their investigative job, but they confront you with zero facts,” Wike said.
He explained that under the 2004 Act, the president has the authority to suspend or modify certain provisions of the law in areas placed under emergency rule. “The president can make regulations for governance in emergency areas. The law gives him that power. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse,” he stressed.
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On criticisms that it is illegal for an emergency government to conduct elections, Wike pushed back strongly, drawing a comparison with Nigeria’s military past. “We accepted military rule to conduct elections for us, even though military rule is an aberration unknown to law. Why then should people reject an election held under emergency powers in a democracy, where the constitution still applies?” he asked.
According to him, military governments were de facto authorities sustained by suspending the constitution, while emergency rule only affects specific provisions of the law without discarding the constitution entirely. “That distinction is very important,” he noted.
Turning to coalition politics, Wike said Nigerians must understand that alliances are not illegal but rather part of the realities of political survival. “People are wondering how the so-called rainbow coalition between APC and PDP happened. But politics is about interests, negotiations, and the law. There is nothing illegal about that,” he explained.
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He dismissed arguments that such alliances weaken democracy, saying instead that they strengthen representation. “When parties form a coalition, it is not illegality, it is politics. What matters is whether the coalition respects the constitution and serves the people,” he said.
Wike urged journalists and political commentators to seek proper legal guidance before making public statements. “If you want to go into this area, do your research to be adequately informed. This is not about media talk. This is law, and I am very versed in this one,” he said.
