A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Magnus Abe, has described the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, as an influential member of President Bola Tinubu’s government.

He, however, pointed out that the former Rivers State governor was not a member of the APC.

Appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Abe recounted how he convinced Wike to work with Tinubu.

The APC chieftain said: “I’m comfortable working with Wike. I did everything to convince Wike as governor then, to work for Tinubu in Rivers State.

“Wike is my friend. Today, he is working in the APC government as a minister. We must work together.”

Asked if Wike has now become a member of the APC, Abe said, “Wike is a minister in the APC government and not a member of the APC.

“He is a minister in our government and we cannot with all proper sense of responsibility as a party ignore the president’s appointee from our own state, who is a minister in our government. It makes no sense.

“So, he does not have to be a member of the APC, but he is an influential figure in the APC government and it is in the interest of the party to work with him and we will do so in the party and nation’s interest and to be able to give our full support to the president (Bola Tinubu).

“He was not a member of the APC when he led the G-5 to support Tinubu’s presidency bid.

“The president didn’t stop him then that he is not a member of the APC so you cannot support me.

“If the president didn’t say that, we too, will not say that he is not an APC member and so we will not work with him.

“We are following the footsteps of our leader, therefore, we’ll work with him.”