Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike has dismissed a claim by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation(SGF) Babachir Lawal that President Bola Tinubu and his administration are not approachable.
“When you say Mr President is unapproachable and the government is unapproachable, what do you call a government?” Wike asked while fielding questions on a national television programme yesterday.
He explained that Tinubu couldn’t attend to everyone when he has hundreds of public office holders who should serve as the first line of contact.
The minister revealed that Lawal was attacking the President for not choosing him as his running mate after emerging as the All Progressives Congress(APC) candidate in 2023.
Wike, who also launched a scathing attack on former Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi and the opposition African Democratic Congress(ADC), said: “If everybody in this country refuses to reach out to ministers or special advisers and just wants to see Mr President, how many people can he attend to at a time?’’
He maintained that governance involves teamwork and that Nigerians should engage ministers and presidential special advisers rather than expect direct access to the president.
Wike revealed that Lawal visited him in his Port Harcourt, Rivers State residence shortly after Kashim Shettima was announced as Tinubu’s running mate.
“Babachir came to my house in Port Harcourt with a former Speaker of the House of Representatives. His grievance was clear. He thought Mr. President would choose him as vice president.
“Having not been picked, he let loose. That is the root of his bitterness,” Wike said.
He faulted Lawal for resorting to “abuse rather than genuine criticism,” stressing that the former SGF’s harsh words about the president were unbecoming.
“This is unfortunate,” Wike said. “How can a man who once dined with the President come out to call him arrogant simply because he was not chosen? Nigerians must see through that.”
Lawal had, while featuring on the same television programme last week, also said that the results of the 2023 presidential election in his possession showed that Tinubu did win. He added that he would have either resigned or been sacked if he had been made a member of the Federal Executive Council.
Besides flaying the former SGF, Wike responded to Amaechi’s criticisms of the Tinubu administration.
He said that Amaechi lacked the moral authority to speak on corruption, citing unresolved issues from his(Amaechi) time as governor.
“Amaechi cannot fight corruption because he is himself a very corrupt man,” Wike said pointedly. ‘’A man comes to tell you he will solve the issue of corruption in one month. But this same man closed down the state high court for almost two years. Can such a man fight corruption?
“ Can there be good governance without the rule of law? He refused to obey the National Judicial Council. That is corruption in itself.”
The FCT minister referenced judicial inquiries, which he said indicted Amaechi.
“He was indicted. He went to court. The court said, yes, the panel was right. He went to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal said the panel was right. He went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment,” Wike said.
The former Rivers governor further alleged that Amaechi mismanaged several projects, including Rivers State’s monorail in Port Harcourt and other investments.
“He spent N74 billion on the monorail. Where is the monorail? Our gas turbine, $380 million, he sold it. Where is the money? Which account did he pay it into? He spent $30 million on Kalibu Heart Hospital. Where is the foundation of the hospital?
‘’He took our legacy aircraft to Germany for 12 years with no record. One of our Dash 8 planes, he sold to a friend for 5 billion. Where are these assets today?,’’ Wike asked
The minister, who also spoke on the latest success by security agencies against terrorists, said Amaechi should pursue his presidential ambition if he had any.
Wike said: “He (Amaechi) knows he won’t get the ticket. I read that he said he knows the weaknesses of the President, so he knows how to defeat him, but he also knew the weaknesses of the President in 2022 when the President defeated him mercilessly in the primary.
“Nigerians know the last person they will give a ticket to because they know it (Amaechi’s bid) is dead on arrival.”
On the wider political landscape, Wike dismissed suggestions that the opposition coalition poses a serious threat to Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections.
Citing the merger of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which led to the formation of the APC in 2014, Wike said a coalition happens only when two or more political parties come together to form a new one.
“There’s no coalition. What is a coalition? You can talk about a coalition when CPC and AC, and some PDP members, went to form another party, which you can call a coalition,” he said.
According to him, the outcome of the recently conducted by-elections in 13 states across the country shows that Nigerians are not looking up to the ADC.
“From what happened in the by-election, how can you say Nigerians are looking up to them (ADC)?”
Asked if that was why he urged Nigerians not to vote for the ADC in the forthcoming election, the minister replied: Yes, because they have nothing to show.”
Wike said it was not enough for coalition members, who have held elective positions previously, to tell Nigerians, ‘I will do this’ without showing their track records.
The minister stated that, among the current politicians in the ADC, there is none he did not invite to Rivers State to inaugurate projects when he was governor.
Wike said that the outcome of the by-election gave a very loud message that the ADC is not gaining any traction.
His words: “From what happened during the by-elections, it will be wrong to say Nigerians are looking up to the ADC.
“Who are those there that Nigerians will be looking up to? These are people who have had countless opportunities in life to change, yet they couldn’t.
“There’s no coalition. When CPC, CAN, and some PDP members came together and formed another party, which was a coalition.
“But when people say they have left their party to join another party, that cannot be a coalition.
“If you look at their track records, they’ve always been moving from one party to the other because they have nothing to show. Nigerians have already rejected them with the results of the by-elections. They didn’t make any impact.
“It is easy for you to appear in the national newspapers and on television to talk, but the reality has shown that they are not in tune with Nigerians.”
The FCT Minister, who also denied planning a parallel PDP convention, said he was not aware of any National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to be held in Ibadan, Oyo State.
He insisted that power must remain in the South till 2031, adding he will support any candidate who will impact the country and its people in the 2027 presidential election.
On security, the minister argued that the Tinubu administration deserved commendation for its recent feat against terrorism.
He added that it was a welcome development that the United States and the United Kingdom have praised security agencies for their good work.
His words: “For some time now, look at the steps the government has been taking. For the first time, look at the United States and the United Kingdom commended the Nigerian government.
“Terrorists have been looking for years to destroy our efforts, but our security agencies were able to penetrate them. And America and the UK commended us more than anything.”
The minister acknowledged that Nigerians are enduring tough times due to reforms such as fuel subsidy removal, but maintained that the sacrifices are necessary.
According to him, while petrol prices initially surged after subsidy removal, they have “started coming down a bit,” showing signs of market adjustment.
He stressed that both rural and urban residents are affected by the state of the economy, dismissing claims that only people in villages bear the brunt of hardship.
“You cannot say only those living in rural areas are suffering. Those in the city also feel the pain when the economy is bad. Every Nigerian is entitled to have a good living,” Wike said.
