By El-ameen Ibrahim, Abuja
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has dismissed calls by factional Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kabiru Turaki, SAN, urging United States President Donald Trump to intervene in Nigeria’s political situation, insisting that the country’s democracy remains firmly intact.
Wike spoke on Wednesday when the board of the South-South Development Commission, led by its Chairman, Chibudom Nwuche, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
Turaki had on Tuesday appealed to President Trump and other Western democracies to “save Nigeria’s democracy” following the violent confrontation between opposing PDP factions at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
Addressing journalists, Turaki said, “I want to call on President Trump. What is at stake is not just a genocide against Nigerian Christians.
“He should come and save democracy in Nigeria. Democracy is under threat. I am calling on all other developed nations, all advanced democracies. Come and save Nigeria, come and save democracy.”
But Wike faulted the remarks, describing them as a clear threat to national security. He accused Turaki’s faction of refusing to comply with subsisting court judgments, which he said was an act of impunity, and argued that the Tinubu administration could not be held responsible for the PDP’s internal turmoil.
He said, “Look at a threat to national security. You are calling on Trump to come and save your democracy when you cannot obey a simple court judgment. Simple court judgment: don’t do this until you have done this.
“Now you are turning it around against a government. What is their business? You cannot keep your house in order; you are blaming an outsider for not keeping your house in order.
“Who does that? You are calling on Trump to come and save your democracy. Our democracy is not under threat. People went to court to challenge what you are doing. Then you think, as usual, impunity—let’s do it. We can’t continue that way.”
Wike, a former Rivers State Governor, also condemned Turaki’s claims of an alleged genocide, saying such assertions warranted immediate scrutiny by security agencies.
“You come out and make a statement on national television to say, look, it is not only killing — genocide against Christians.
“In essence, you have come out to tell the world that what this government is doing is carrying out genocide against Christians. And where are the security agencies?
“For somebody to make such a statement, you won’t invite them to come and say, ‘Maybe you know better; you have facts. Kindly give us so that we will know what to do.’ You don’t want to say anything. But if it is Wike— kill him!” Wike added.