Sahara Reporters’ claim Wike boycotted Council of State meeting, false

Claim: SaharaReporters asserted that Nyesom Wike, the FCT minister, boycotted the Council of State meeting over INEC’s chairmanship.

Verdict: False! Available evidence shows that ministers in Nigeria are not members of the Council. Also, no credible source reported Wike’s attendance at the meeting. 

Full Text

Recently, President Bola Tinubu nominated Joash Amupitan as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman. This followed the expiration of the former chairman, Yakubu Mahmood’s tenure. 

In line with constitutional provisions, Tinubu is expected to forward the nominee’s name to the Senate for screening and confirmation.

During the meeting to decide Amupitan’s fate on Oct. 9, 2025, SaharaReporters, an online newspaper, claimed that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Nyesom Wike, boycotted the Council of State meeting in protest. 

According to its report, Wike and President Tinubu are at loggerheads over the latter’s choice of a new chairman for INEC; thus, the purported incident shows the deepened rift.

The Council of State is a forum of Nigerian leaders that advises the president on critical appointments and public order in the nation.

Given the personalities involved, DUBAWA conducted this verification to set the record straight.

Verification 

DUBAWA checked Third Schedule (Part 1B) of the Nigerian Constitution (1999) and observed that ministers are not members of the Council of State. 

Stating inter alia, the constitution provided that the Council shall comprise the following persons: (a) the President, who shall be the Chairman; (b) the Vice-President, who shall be the Deputy Chairman; (c) all former Presidents of the Federation, among others. This provision made no mention of ministers. 

With this information, we visited the State House’s official X handle to look for any releases on the incident, but we found none. 

Finally, we ran a thorough keyword search on Google and checked whether credible news platforms covered the development, but found no supporting evidence. No media outlet reported Wike’s presence or absence. 

Conclusion 

Findings by DUBAWA reveal that Sahara Reporters’ claim that FCT minister Wike boycotted the Council of State’s meeting over INEC chairmanship is false and misleading. No credible outlet reported such a development.