The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has fired back at Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, over allegations that he is using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to witch-hunt the Bauchi State Government.
Gatekeepers News reports that Governor Mohammed had accused Wike of being behind the EFCC’s terrorism financing charge against his Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, and alleged that the minister was persecuting him for refusing to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Reacting on Thursday during a rally in Rivers State, Wike dismissed the allegation and openly mocked the Bauchi governor, insisting he had nothing to do with the EFCC’s actions.
“I watched what Governor Bala said. That all the problems he is having, that I am the one behind it, because I said I will put fire in his state. So, if you know I have such power, why are you fighting?” Wike said.
He accused Mohammed of attempting to impose party leaders during a visit to Rivers State and warned that such actions would trigger internal crises.
“Bala came to my state to impose party leaders. I told him to be careful or else he’ll see crises. Today, he doesn’t have a party to bring his successor, and this is what I warned them. If you know you don’t have the strength to fight, why not go and rest,” he said.
Wike also rejected claims that he was responsible for the EFCC investigation involving the Bauchi governor and his administration.
“Now EFCC is chasing him, and he’s saying it’s me. What’s my business? If your state is clean, go there and clear yourself,” he said.
Mocking what he described as a growing tendency to blame him for political troubles across the country, Wike added:
“Anybody that has stroke, it’s Wike. The ones with headache, it’s Wike. The ones in Sokoto, Wike. You’re in Taraba, Wike. You’re in Lagos, Wike, you’re in Bauchi, Wike. Leave this Wike. He’s too strong.”
Earlier, Governor Mohammed had accused the APC-led Federal Government of using state institutions and the judiciary to persecute opposition figures.
Speaking on Wednesday after assenting to the Bauchi State 2026 budget at the Executive Council Chamber, the governor said he would not allow himself to be criminalised for refusing to defect to the APC.
Mohammed, who chairs the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum, said the federal government was targeting opposition politicians through investigations and prosecutions.
He spoke shortly after receiving an Award of Excellence as a Safety Ambassador from the Safety Institute of Nigeria, which he dedicated to the people of Bauchi State.
“I was just waking up to an occasion where I was told that I was being accused of terrorism as a governor. Someone who is the head of the opposition,” Mohammed said.
“My Commissioner has been kept and would not be released by the EFCC, even when I have immunity as a governor; my name was stupendously mentioned in a motion in a court of law in Nigeria.”
He added that politics in Nigeria had taken a troubling turn but expressed hope that justice would prevail.
“Whatever anybody does to prosecute you, somehow God will do something to absolve you of blame, of persecutions, because with the little resources we have to work with and do what we have done in Bauchi, somebody will accuse us of arbitrariness,” he said.
