I Have a Right to See What’s Going On — Wike Defends Visits to Polling Units During FCT Polls
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Monday defended his visits to polling units during the recent Federal Capital Territory area council elections, insisting that he acted within his rights as the chief security officer of FCT.
Speaking during his monthly media parley in Abuja, the minister said his presence at some polling units was purely to monitor the security situation and not to influence the electoral process.
“As the Chief Security Officer, I have a right to have a view of what is going on,” he said.
Wike explained that he visited about 10 polling units out of thousands across the territory, arguing that such limited movement could not have affected the outcome of the election.
“FCT has not less than 3,000 polling units, for example. And assuming they don’t concede it, I went to 10 polling units, for example, to check what was going on. How would that affect 3,000 polling units?” he asked.
The minister, who described himself as the “governor” of the FCT in terms of administrative responsibility, said he did not need permission to assess the security situation on election day.
“I have a right. I’m the governor of FCT. For security, I have to find out what’s going on. I don’t need to be told,” he stated.
Wike also dismissed allegations that his movements were politically motivated, noting that he was not a candidate in the election and did not campaign at polling centres.
“I’m not in the ballot. I was never in the ballot. And I never came out to say, vote for APC,” he said.
He added that his actions were consistent with his duty to ensure peace and order, maintaining that visiting a handful of polling units could not have influenced the overall election results.
The FCT minister further challenged critics to explain how his presence at a few locations could determine outcomes across thousands of polling units, insisting that his role was strictly supervisory on security grounds.
