By George Mgbeleke <\/p>\n
As Federal Capital Territory (FCT) councils election draws close,the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike’s statement, where he allegedly said that the FCT Administration will work against candidates who do not support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, describing the threat as “unconstitutional and a violation of the constitution, the Electoral Act and Public Service Rules.”<\/p>\n
The PDP remarked that Wike’s statement contravenes Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees every Nigerian the right to belong to any political party of their choice.<\/p>\n
In a statement it issued on Sunday, the PDP also cited Section 42 of the Constitution, which protects citizens from being disadvantaged based on their political opinions, saying Wike’s threat could be seen as an attempt to undermine this right.<\/p>\n
The PDP further referenced the Electoral Act 2022, specifically Section 122, which prohibits undue influence, intimidation, or use of force to compel someone to vote or refrain from voting.
\nThe party questioned whether Wike’s statement does not amount to blank intimidation and can be interpreted as using FCT Administration’s power to obstruct opponents campaign, saying it could be classified as an electoral offense.
\nThe PDP also cited Public Service Rules, which expected public servants like Wike to remain neutral and avoid actions that bring their office into partisan disrepute.
\nThe party urged Nigerians to reject Wike’s attempt to intimidate voters and called on relevant authorities to take action against him for his statement.
\nThe PDP emphasized that Wike’s threat is a clear attempt to undermine democracy and the rule of law, saying it will not be tolerated.
\nThe statement read in part: “This comment by Wike is not only contrary to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999, as amended), but it also violates the Electoral Act (2022) and Public Service Rules.
\n“Here is why: The 1999 Constitution (As Amended), is the grundnorm of Nigeria, and two sections are particularly relevant here, namely Section 40 (Freedom of Association): Every Nigerian has the right to belong to any political party of their choice. Critics argue that a Minister using his office to “work against” those who do not support a specific leader is an attempt to undermine this fundamental right.
\n“Section 42 (Right to Freedom from Discrimination): This protects citizens from being disadvantaged based on their political opinions. If Wike\u2019s “working against” involves using state resources or official FCT powers to sideline candidates, it could be challenged as a violation of this section.
\n“The Electoral Act is specific about behavior during an election cycle: Section 122 (Undue Influence\/Intimidation): The Act prohibits any person from using “force, violence, or restraint,” or inflicting “temporal or spiritual injury” to compel someone to vote or refrain from voting.
\n“The Gray Area: If “working against” is interpreted as political campaigning, it is legal. However, if it is interpreted as intimidation or using the FCT Administration’s power to obstruct an opponent’s campaign, it could be classified as an electoral offense.
\n“Section 92 (Prohibition of Certain Conduct at Campaigns): Rallies and speeches must not be used to incite others or use language that could lead to a breach of peace.
\n“Public Service Rules. As a Minister, Nyesom Wike is a public servant. Under Nigeria\u2019s Public Service Rules (PSR), officials are generally expected to remain neutral in the discharge of their duties and avoid actions that bring their office into partisan disrepute. While Nigerian ministers often take active roles in party campaigns in practice, using the authority of a public office to target political opponents remains a breach of administrative ethics.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke As Federal Capital Territory (FCT) councils election draws close,the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike’s statement, where he allegedly said that the FCT Administration will work against candidates who do not support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, describing the threat as “unconstitutional and a violation of the constitution, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[386,1790,1617],"class_list":["post-11108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-constitution","tag-unconstitutional","tag-violation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11108"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11109,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11108\/revisions\/11109"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}