Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),
Nyesom Wike, has defended his decision to impose a curfew in the FCT, insisting
that the action was within his rights as the territory’s “governor” and had the
approval of President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking during a media chat on Monday in his office,
Wike explained that his movements during the February 21 area council elections
did not influence the outcome of the polls.
“I have the rights, I am the governor of 3,000 polling
units. For security, I have to find out what is going on. I don’t have to be
told, I am not a candidate for the election,” he said.
Wike added that visiting a small number of polling
units — even assuming he visited 10 out of over 3,000 — could not have affected
the overall results.
“As a candidate, I cannot move around. I must have my
agents. As the Chief Security Officer, I have a right to have a view of what is
going on and how does it affect, influence the election?” he noted.
Opposition Criticism
The former Rivers State governor blamed opposition
parties for inadequate preparation, saying the success of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) reflected the performance of the Tinubu-led federal government.
However, the curfew, which restricted human and
vehicular movement in the FCT from 8 p.m. on Friday to 6 p.m. on Saturday, drew
criticism from residents and political figures.
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