The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has fired back at Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, accusing him of trying to use their ongoing feud to advance a “dead-on-arrival” presidential ambition.
Wike, in a statement released on Sunday through his media aide, Lere Olayinka, dismissed Mohammed’s criticisms and questioned his loyalty to political parties, describing him as an opportunist who shifts allegiances to suit his ambitions.
Addressing the controversy surrounding his ministerial role in President Bola Tinubu’s APC-led government, Wike stated that he was not the first opposition member to serve as a minister under a ruling party and would not be the last.
“Now, the same Bala Mohammed, who left the senatorial mandate he got as an ANPP member to become a minister under a PDP government, is running his mouth like a faulty tap,” Wike said in the statement.
He accused Mohammed of hypocrisy, pointing out that the Bauchi governor defected to the PDP shortly after accepting a ministerial appointment. “That he (Bala Mohammed) defected to the PDP a few months after becoming a minister is a further demonstration of his ‘anywhere-belly-face’ politics,” the statement added.
Wike did not mince words in criticizing Mohammed’s political trajectory, alleging that the Bauchi governor has a history of prioritizing personal gain over party loyalty. “If he had been offered even a Special Assistant position by the APC government of Buhari in 2015, he would have accepted it and defected to the APC,” Wike claimed.
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Wike also accused Mohammed of using his criticisms as a smokescreen to cover what he described as his failure to lead the PDP Governors’ Forum effectively. “The appointment of Barrister Nyesom Wike as minister remains the only excuse available for the Bauchi State governor to defend his glaring lack of capacity to lead the PDP,” the statement read.
The FCT Minister made it clear that he has no intention of engaging further with Governor Mohammed. “As for us, we are done with any object by the name Bala Mohammed. The reason is, we have better things to do, and we won’t be available to be used by any ineffectual being to launch a dead-on-arrival 2027 presidential ambition,” Wike declared.
The public exchange between Wike and Mohammed marks a growing rift within the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Both leaders, prominent figures in the party, have exchanged accusations in recent weeks, raising concerns about unity within the PDP as it prepares for the 2027 general elections.
While Wike has remained firm in his stance, political analysts believe the fallout may further weaken the PDP, which has already faced internal divisions and defections to the ruling APC.