The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru, has said the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, lacks the right to interfere in the affairs of the APC in Rivers State.

Basiru said the former governor was not a member of the APC and therefore lacked the locus to dabble into the affairs of the ruling party.

The national secretary stated this in a post on the official X handle of the APC in response to Wike’s warning to him to steer clear of Rivers State politics.

“For the avoidance of doubt, our records indicate that Minister Nyesom Wike is not a member of our Party (APC), so he lacks the locus to dabble into the affairs [of] our party,” he stated.

The former lawmaker said that as National Secretary of the APC, he was imbued with the responsibility to protect the interests of the party and all its members and structures.

“Hence, my comments regarding the affairs of the APC in Rivers State cannot be an undue interference in the affairs of Rivers State. As National Secretary, my activities cannot be confined to my home state, Osun State,” he added.

“For the avoidance of doubt, our records indicate that Minister Nyesom Wike is not a member of our Party (APC) so he lacks the locus to dabble into the affairs our Party.”

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, had asked the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru, to steer clear of Rivers State politics.

The FCT minister had, during his thank-you visit to the Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state, told Bashiru to leave Rivers alone after the party chieftain on Sunday warned the National Vice Chairman, South-South of the party, Victor Giadom, to stop disrespecting the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, to please Wike.

Basiru’s comment followed Giadom’s comments on December 30, 2025, during Wike’s visit to the Gokana Local Government Area, where he referred to Fubara as a so-called governor.

The national vice chairman had also said that for Fubara to win anything in Rivers, he must go through Wike.

But Wike, who did not take Basiru’s comments lightly, asked Giadom to advise the APC scribe to avoid Rivers politics for his own good.

The former Rivers governor also stated that he would bring Bashiru’s comment to the attention of President Bola Tinubu.