The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has dismissed claims that Nigeria’s democracy is under threat, faulting calls by factional Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Umar Turaki, SAN, for the intervention of United States President Donald Trump in the country’s political affairs.
Wike spoke on Wednesday when he received the board members of the South-South Development Commission, led by Chairman Chibudom Nwuche, in his office.
Turaki had on Tuesday urged President Trump and other advanced democracies to “save Nigeria’s democracy,” citing the clash between rival PDP factions at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja. He also alleged that what was at stake “is not just a genocide against Nigerian Christians.”
Responding, Wike described Turaki’s remarks as irresponsible and a threat to national security, insisting that the PDP faction led by Turaki had refused to comply with court rulings—a situation he argued was the root of the crisis.
“You are calling on Trump to come and save your democracy when you cannot obey a simple court judgment,” Wike said. “You cannot keep your house in order and then blame outsiders. Our democracy is not under threat. People went to court to challenge what you are doing, but you want impunity to continue.”
The former Rivers State Governor also faulted Turaki’s allusion to genocide, saying such a claim amounts to accusing the Federal Government of crimes against Nigerian Christians.
“For someone to go on national television and allege genocide against Christians, security agencies should have invited him to provide evidence,” he said. “But if it is Wike, they will say kill him!”
Wike maintained that Nigeria’s democratic institutions remain strong and that the internal issues within the PDP cannot be blamed on the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
