Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has backed the decision to include someone under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in President Bola Tinubu’s campaign team.
Wike said that being under investigation does not stop a person from asking for votes. He made this statement during a media chat on Wednesday, which was shown on Channels Television.
The former governor of Rivers State pointed out what he sees as double standards when it comes to political campaigns. He noted that a person being investigated by the EFCC but not charged in court can still take part in political activities.
“You (media) were asking the moral justification of putting someone who has an EFCC case to be in a campaign council. And I was just watching the lady. The lady doesn’t even know what to say,” Wike said.
He continued, “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?”
Wike mentioned that there have been times when people facing criminal charges ran for elections and won.
“This person had an EFCC case in court, charged to court. He contested an election and became a Governor,” he said, not naming anyone.
Wike also claimed that even a person in prison can ask for votes for a candidate. “Listen. 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 referred to an unnamed individual, who he said was accused of being involved in a coup in Nigeria, stating that this person also asked for votes for a 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.
“But… a party, or a candidate cannot, simply because EFCC is investigating the person, cannot be a member of the campaign council to campaign for votes.”
Wike’s comments came after some people raised concerns about the inclusion of Betta Edu in Tinubu’s campaign team for the 2027 elections.
Edu has been named as the Director of Women Mobilisation in the APC Presidential Campaign Council. She was suspended by Tinubu in January 2024 after being accused of financial wrongdoing and was later investigated by the EFCC.
An APC campaign council spokesperson, Kemi Asekun-Shittu, defended Edu’s inclusion during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday. She said the former minister had not been found guilty of any crime.
“I’d like to say that for Betta Edu, for example, she has not been found guilty. And it will be unfair to ask that she leaves her life or refuses to live her life until the EFCC declares her. We believe that there is very likely the issue that she may not be found guilty.
“But besides that, we also know that with politics, every Nigerian is allowed to be a politician if they choose to. And we do not believe that we should then hold her life still or keep her stagnant until the case is decided. It’s been almost two years of that case.
“She does deserve an opportunity to present herself again for the party,” she said.
Asekun-Shittu also stated that the campaign committee is an internal party matter, and the APC can choose who will work for it. She added that the list is not final and can still be changed.
Edu has not been publicly declared guilty of any crime related to the EFCC investigation.
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