Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) does not automatically disqualify an individual from participating in political campaigns or canvassing votes.
Wike made the position known on Wednesday during a media parley in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while defending the participation of persons facing allegations or undergoing investigations in political campaign structures.
His comments came amid controversy over the inclusion of former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, in the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign structure for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
Edu was named Director of Women Mobilisation in the APC Presidential Campaign Council. She was suspended by President Tinubu in January 2024 following allegations of financial impropriety and was subsequently investigated by the EFCC.
Wike questioned the justification for barring an individual from campaigning solely because the person was under investigation, particularly where no conviction had been secured.
“You were asking the moral justification of putting someone who has an EFCC case to be in a campaign council. And I was just watching the lady. The lady doesn’t even know what to say,” he said.
The FCT minister argued that there was an apparent inconsistency in questioning an individual’s participation in campaign activities while the law still allows persons facing investigations or court cases to contest elections.
“Now, somebody cannot be in a campaign to canvass for votes for a particular person, but somebody who has an EFCC case can contest an election and win an election?” he asked.
Wike said there had been cases where individuals facing criminal allegations or ongoing court proceedings contested elections and eventually emerged victorious.
“This person had an EFCC case in court, charged to court. He contested an election and became a governor,” he said, without naming the individual.
Taking his argument further, Wike said even a person serving a prison sentence could express political support for a candidate and mobilise others to vote for the preferred candidate.
“Listen. Even a prisoner… maybe they have somebody in prison. I go and visit the person. The person can tell me, ‘My brother, I want you to support so-and-so candidate.’ A prisoner has canvassed for vote,” he said.
The minister also referred to an unnamed individual allegedly linked to a coup plot, questioning the criticism that followed reports that the person had supported a political candidate.
He contrasted such criticism with the controversy surrounding individuals being investigated by the EFCC who participate in political campaigns.
“I was watching, when Channels, when Sunrise, who came up to say, ‘Ah, how can somebody who’s being looked for as a coup plotter is now canvassing for votes for so-and-so government?’ Somebody EFCC is looking for is now canvassing for votes for so-and-so person,” Wike said.
He maintained that an ongoing investigation, without a conviction, should not in itself prevent a political party or candidate from accepting an individual’s political support.
“But a party, or a candidate cannot, simply because EFCC is investigating the person, cannot be a member of the campaign council to campaign for votes,” he said.
Edu has not been publicly convicted of any offence arising from the EFCC investigation.
