Nentawe Yilwatda, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says the political crisis involving Nyesom Wike and Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara is not a matter for the ruling party.
Speaking on Tuesday during an interview in television, Yilwatda said the dispute falls outside the APC’s jurisdiction because Wike is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“When it comes to the issue between Wike and Fubara, it’s not within my purview as the national chairman of APC. Wike is in PDP, while Fubara is in APC,” he said.
Prof Yilwatda explained that the ongoing impeachment controversy in Rivers State concerns APC members in the House of Assembly and should be treated as an internal party matter.
“The issue of impeachment is not about Wike. It has to do with APC members in the House of Assembly. That is something we can handle internally, and we have mechanisms within the party to resolve such issues,” he said.
The APC chairman stressed that internal disagreements should be addressed discreetly and with maturity, rather than in the public space.
“We don’t put these discussions in the public. These issues can be resolved through in-house processes that require maturity,” he added.
Asked whether Wike poses a problem for the APC, Yilwatda dismissed the suggestion, saying, “Never, never.”
The tension between Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, and Governor Fubara escalated in December 2025 when Wike began openly campaigning against Fubara’s re-election bid, accusing him of violating an agreement reached before President Bola Tinubu lifted the emergency rule in Rivers State.
Lawmakers in the Rivers State House of Assembly aligned with Wike also accused the governor of spending public funds without legislative approval, prompting impeachment proceedings against Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, over allegations of gross misconduct.
However, on January 23, a Rivers State High Court adjourned the matter indefinitely, ruling that the Court of Appeal must first determine pending appeals filed by the Speaker and other lawmakers, effectively halting the impeachment process.