Political commentators yesterday accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike of intolerance. In their social media posts, they accused Wike of using Executive Order 21 to prevent opposition parties from campaigning or holding rallies ahead of the 2023 general election when he was Rivers State governor.

Executive Order 21 requires that anyone holding political rallies in Rivers must seek state approval through the Commissioner for Education at least two weeks before such rallies in an application that must be accompanied by a nonrefundable N5 million.

In December 2022, during the inauguration of the Ahoada -Omoku Dual Carriage-way, at the Ahoada State School in the Ahoada East Local Government Area, the minister, who spoke on Executive Order 21 and the consequences of violating it, said:”If you do disobey, you know where you will be.

“So, we say this thing has to be regulated. It has to be in a non-residential area. They say they will not, I say you will. If you dare to do it without approval, you’ll go to jail.” he campaign organisation and of Dele Cole, who contested the 2023 governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said: “Executive Order 21 is deliberate and part of the plot by the governor to stifle competition from other political parties.”