…APC campaign council spokesperson Kemi Asekun-Shittu says it is unjust to stall Edu’s life or career while the investigation is ongoing
Precious Nwonu, Enugu
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has strongly defended the inclusion of individuals under Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigation within political campaign teams, asserting that a security probe does not legally stop anyone from canvassing for votes.
Speaking during a live media parley aired on Channels Television, the former Rivers State Governor criticized what he described as a double standard from the press and public regarding the scrutiny applied to political campaigns. He pointed out the irony that an individual under investigation but not yet charged in court is often heavily scrutinized for campaigning, while others with active cases are permitted to run for the highest offices.
“You (media) 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,” Wike observed. “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?”
Wike further noted that Nigerian political history is filled with instances where individuals facing severe criminal allegations successfully ran for office. “This person had an EFCC case in court, charged to court. He contested an election and became a Governor,” Wike said, choosing not to mention specific names.
Expanding his argument to show the limits of political advocacy, Wike stated that even incarcerated individuals possess the ability to influence voters. “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 also referenced an unnamed individual previously accused of participating in a coup plot who still engaged in political campaigning. “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. 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.”
Wike’s comments come on the heels of intense public controversy surrounding the inclusion of the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, in President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 presidential re-election campaign structure. Edu was named the Director of Women Mobilisation for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council.
Edu was suspended by President Tinubu in January 2024 following sweeping allegations of financial impropriety and was subsequently questioned by the EFCC. To date, she has not been publicly or legally declared guilty of any crime.
Defending the decision on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, APC campaign council spokesperson Kemi Asekun-Shittu argued that it is unjust to stall Edu’s life or career while the investigation remains pending.
“I’d like to say that for Betta Edu, for example, she has not been found guilty. And it will be unfair to ask that she leaves her life or refuses to live her life until the EFCC declares her. We believe that there is very likely the issue that she may not be found guilty,” Asekun-Shittu stated. “But besides that, we also know that with politics, every Nigerian is allowed to be a politician if they choose to. And we do not believe that we should then hold her life still or keep her stagnant until the case is decided. It’s been almost two years of that case. She does deserve an opportunity to present herself again for the party.”
Asekun-Shittu concluded by emphasizing that campaign committee selections are strictly internal party affairs, meaning the APC retains the right to choose its workers. However, she noted that the current directory is not final and remains subject to future reviews.