Dailypost Nigeria News: ‘I’m FCT gov’ – Wike defends curfew during council election
Published on: 03/03/2026
By Seun Opejobi
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has explained why a curfew was put in place during the local council elections in the FCT.
Defending the curfew, Wike said he has the authority as the “governor of the FCT” to impose a curfew.
Speaking during his monthly media chat in Abuja on Monday, the minister said his actions during the February 21 area council elections did not affect the results of the voting.
He said: “I have the rights, and I am the governor of 3,000 polling units. For security reasons, I need to figure out what’s happening.
“I don’t need to be told, I’m not running for the election.
“Somebody has said I move about. How many polling units in FCT? FCT has at least 3,000 polling units. If I visited 10 polling units to see what was happening, how would that impact the other 3,000 polling units?
“As a candidate, I cannot move around. I must have my agents. As the Chief Security Officer. I have the right to know what is happening and how it affects or influences the election?”
Defending the curfew, Wike said he has the authority as the “governor of the FCT” to impose a curfew.
Speaking during his monthly media chat in Abuja on Monday, the minister said his actions during the February 21 area council elections did not affect the results of the voting.
He said: “I have the rights, and I am the governor of 3,000 polling units. For security reasons, I need to figure out what’s happening.
“I don’t need to be told, I’m not running for the election.
“Somebody has said I move about. How many polling units in FCT? FCT has at least 3,000 polling units. If I visited 10 polling units to see what was happening, how would that impact the other 3,000 polling units?
“As a candidate, I cannot move around. I must have my agents. As the Chief Security Officer. I have the right to know what is happening and how it affects or influences the election?”