- A comeback by him ‘can’t happen’
- Be wary of hypocrites, minister cautions Jonathan
There is no room for former Governor Peter Obi’s return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike said yesterday.
According to him, those wooing the 2023 Labour Party (LP) Presidential candidate to run for President in 2027 on the ticket of the PDP are plotting the death of the opposition party.
Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, is the loudest voice among those canvassing Obi’s return, following zoning of the party’s ticket to the South.
The idea was first broached by one-time Information Minister, Prof. Jerry Gana.
Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, is also being lured with the party’s 2027 presidential ticket by some PDP leaders like former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, and Governor Mohammed.
But Wike, speaking on a television interview session, said: “Bring Obi to where? You want to kill the party even more? Obi was the one abusing the PDP, calling it rotten. Now, the same party is good enough for him to pursue his ambition?
“Ambition can even make people go to Satan’s house. If you want to destroy this party, dare it. Let Obi come, there is nowhere he will go.”
Wike spoke in reference to Obi, who was running mate on the PDP ticket to Atiku Abubakar in the 2019 presidential election but dumped the party thereafter to run on LP ticket in 2023.
Obi was governor of Anambra State on the platform of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the party he pledged never to desert. But he joined the PDP to pursue his ambition of going to the federal level.
Wike also advised former President Jonathan to be wary of deceivers, who are luring him into the race.
Urging him to learn from the past, the former governor of Rivers State recalled that those advising Jonathan to run were the same people that truncated his re-election bid in 2015.
Jonathan, who succeeded the late President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2009, was elected in 2011. But he has not played any marginal role in the party since his exit from power in 2015.
Obi lacks character, says minister
Wike insisted that Obi’s retracing of steps to the party would herald self-destruction for the opposition party.
The minister accused the PDP of failing to learn from the “political suicide” that led to its defeat in the 2023 general election.
He attributed the electoral loss to the neglect of zoning and equity, recalling that he and other leaders had drawn attention to the danger of allowing a bloc zone to produce the national chairman and the presidential candidate at the same time.
He said: “From day one, I told my colleagues, ‘PDP, you are shooting yourself. If you allow what is going on to continue, you’ll pay. You cannot have the presidential candidate at the same time as the national chairman from the same zone.”
The FCT minister accused the party leadership of arrogantly disregarding the calls for balance, which led to the party’s electoral downfall.
Speaking on the 2023 race, he said: “It is better now that you have stolen the presidential ticket, and again stole the national chairman. I said it will purge you. And it really purged them. I have no regret for it.”
Wike said since Obi had publicly condemned the PDP, he should forfeit the opportunity to return.
The minister insisted that such a move, driven by mere political ambition, would obliterate the party’s remaining credibility and ideological foundation.
Wike maintained that the only viable path for the PDP to regain national prominence is strict adherence to the principles of rotation, equity, and justice, and by ensuring that the presidency returns to the South.
He said Obi lacks character, adding that he can never be trusted.
Wike also said Obi’s statement that he would only rule for four years, if elected, is a ruse.
‘Jonathan is being deceived’
Wike, who served under Jonathan as Minister of State for Education, said those advising him to run for the president are deceiving him.
He urged him to be sensitive to the antics of hawks, who are trying to mislead him.
Wike said Jonathan should not allow himself to be used by politicians, who deceived him in the past.
He said: “I know Jonathan well. He has international respect and should maintain that. These same people weighing Jonathan down are the ones who played him in 2015. They are only trying to cause confusion in the party.”
‘I won’t run for president ‘
The minister rejected insinuations that he harbored presidential ambitions ahead of 2027, saying his position had always been clear.
Wike said: “I have integrity, I have character. The person who appointed me is there. We are saying he should run. Then, I will turn around to say I want to run? What kind of thing is that? How will my children even look at me? I will not run for president.”
‘Tinubu will be re-elected’
Wike dismissed El-Rufai’s prediction that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would come third in the 2027 election, describing it as faulty and mathematically inaccurate.
He said El-Rufai “failed in his mathematics” by predicting Tinubu’s third-place finish without identifying who would come first and second.
Wike stressed: “He goofed. He should have completed it since he claimed Tinubu would come third. How did he arrive at who would be third without arriving at who would be first and second?”
The minister, who exuded confidence about the President’s victory, said: “I will put a bet. Tinubu will win this election squarely.”
He also rejected the runoff calculation, saying: “Which runoff? With who? It is not possible.”
The minister frowned at the country’s political culture, pointing out that candidates, who lose elections, rarely accept defeat without raising allegations against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He stressed: “Tell me which election INEC conducted that people didn’t complain about. Is there anybody who has lost an election in this country and has come out to concede, apart from Jonathan? Mention one.”
Wike urged politicians to emulate Jonathan, who conceded defeat in 2015, stressing that Nigerians must stop making excuses after elections.
He added: “We have this spirit of always complaining. I don’t like excuses. What I cannot achieve, I will say it is not possible. But people must also learn to concede for the sake of national interest”.
‘No room for criminals in FCT’
Fielding more questions from the panel of journalists during his monthly ‘Meet the Media’ programme, he also spoke on his assignment at the FCT, Rivers State politics and the local government election held at the weekend in which the APC won 20 of the 23 seats, leaving only three for the PDP.
He said: “Criminals don’t stay where you will locate them; they do not stay in houses where you will identify them. Criminals stay in these places where you cannot locate them.
“We cannot say because of poverty, we should allow you to kill people, to rob them, to kidnap people. That is not allowed.”
The minister berated landowners, who fail to develop their properties, leaving them as hideouts for criminals.
He said: “It has infested the city, and that is why we have told people who claim the land belongs to them: Why are you not developing the land?
“Why are you making it possible for these criminals to come and settle here and cause problems for the city, and then you say the government is not doing anything?” he queried.
Wike, who vowed that illegal settlements would be cleared, added: “We are going to make sure that all illegal occupants anywhere will be thrown out. It is unfortunate, but there is nothing we can do about it because security is key.
“It is paramount because any government that cannot provide security for its citizens has nothing to do.”
The minister insisted that although poverty is a global reality, it is not an excuse for crime.
He stressed: “There has never been a time anybody can say there is no poverty — mention the country; it’s all over the world. Go to China; go to places, there are areas where you will see poverty.
“But that does not give you room to make people uncomfortable, to kidnap people, to rob people, or to kill people. No, we will not allow that,” he said.
On the health sector and resident doctors’ strike threat, the minister frowned at what he described as unrealistic demands and blackmail.
He said: “Every sector believes that everything should be 100 per cent. No government will sit back and say, ‘Look, I don’t want this sector to be functional.’ No. Based on resources, it must be tailored towards one sector as the need arises.”
Wike, who complained that doctors frequently shift demands, said: “Today, the doctors are talking about training and retraining. Tomorrow, allowances are not being paid. Next, hospitals have no facilities.”
Wike also said rather than engage the government constructively, unions often resort to threats.
He said: “You wake up in the morning, and here it is, we have issued the government an ultimatum without even writing to the government. The thing is just blackmail, threats,” he said.
Lamenting financial constraints, he said the FCT wage bill was overstretched.
His added: “The FCT wage bill is not more than N12 billion a month. And for over 40,000 workers, how do you manage that? What do we get from the Federation Account? Barely N10 billion. So, we fall back on our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). That is the reality”.
He spoke on poor sanitation and abandoned hospitals, such as Utako General Hospital, saying his administration inherited litigation that stalled projects but had since resolved them.
Wike added: “You were here when I said the Utako issue had just been resolved. The procurement process is going on. And procurement is not a one-day affair. But I told you the number of hospitals we are taking up this year.”
Wike admitted challenges in waste management, blaming them on poorly awarded contracts.
He said: “It would be wrong for you to say Abuja is filthy. Some parts of Abuja are filthy, yes, but not all. I found problems in waste management. Contracts were awarded to people without capacity and or equipment. But now we have got BPP approval, and we will advertise it. Sanitation cannot be handled by political patronage.”
Wike described open grazing as a national security issue requiring careful handling.
