Internal pressure within the All Progressives Congress (APC) intensified on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, as influential party leaders and pro–Tinubu/Shettima support groups staged a peaceful protest in Abuja, calling for the immediate removal of Nyesom Wike as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Marching under the banners of the APC Leaders Forum (ALF) and the Tinubu/Shettima Solidarity Movement (TSSM), the protesters accused Wike of open defiance, persistent verbal attacks on party officials, and actions they said
undermine party unity and threaten national cohesion.
The groups warned that Wike’s conduct amounted to a direct challenge to the authority of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and posed serious risks to political stability in Rivers State and the wider Niger Delta region.
Their demands were formally communicated in an open letter to President Tinubu, jointly signed by Chief Dr. Emeka Okoro, Dr. Adekunle Balogun, Alhaji Ibrahim Yusuf and Mallam Abdulkareem Isiaka. In the letter, the groups reaffirmed unwavering loyalty to the President and pledged continued mobilisation in support of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Addressing journalists at the rally, APC leaders said the protest was driven by “grave concern for party discipline, national security and the future of democratic governance.”
In a statement routed through the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, the groups said silence was no longer an option in the face of what they described as Wike’s “repeated acts of misconduct.”
“We are demanding his immediate removal to safeguard party unity, protect elected officials and preserve national peace,” the statement said.
The protesters accused Wike—whom they noted is not a registered APC member—of launching sustained attacks on the party’s National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru. They referenced comments allegedly made by Wike during a January 5, 2026 thank-you tour of Oyigbo Local Government Area in Rivers State, where he accused Basiru of interfering in state affairs and warned that such actors would “get their fingers burnt.”
According to the groups, those remarks were an affront to the APC’s National Working Committee and a deliberate attempt to undermine the party’s national leadership.
The APC leaders also accused Wike of consistently undermining Governor Siminalayi Fubara, describing his actions as political sabotage, including public ridicule of the governor and claims that his emergence was a “mistake” to be corrected in 2027.
Further concerns were raised over Wike’s alleged declaration that “nobody can enter Rivers State,” which the groups described as a dangerous provocation and a direct challenge to President Tinubu’s authority as Commander-in-Chief.
Warning of a sustained campaign, the protesters said the Abuja rally marked the beginning of a nationwide action, vowing to continue demonstrations across states and local governments until Wike is removed as FCT minister.
The APC Leaders Forum and Tinubu/Shettima Solidarity Movement said the protest was also held in solidarity with Governor Fubara, Senator Basiru and APC National Chairman Prof. Yilwatda, urging President Tinubu to act decisively.
“No individual is bigger than the party or the nation,” the groups declared, calling on the President to sack Wike without delay.
