The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said that Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is afraid of the growing strength of the new opposition coalition in Nigeria.
The coalition, which includes former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, and other top opposition leaders, officially adopted the ADC as its platform on Wednesday.
But speaking to journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Wike dismissed the coalition. He claimed the opposition had weakened itself and said only the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could possibly challenge President Bola Tinubu’s government in 2027.
“There is no coalition. The opposition has decimated themselves. The only party that can, if they put themselves well, challenge this government is the PDP,” Wike said.
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In response, the spokesman of the ADC coalition, Bolaji Abdullahi, said Wike’s harsh comments were a sign of fear.
“We believe Wike could only descend to that level because of his mortal fear of the threat that the successful unveiling of the coalition of opposition political parties constitutes to the government that he serves,” Abdullahi said.
He accused Wike and the Tinubu administration of failing the Nigerian people, especially in the FCT, where he said primary school teachers have been on strike for months.
“If Minister Wike had paid the salaries of primary school teachers and had not treated FCT workers with so much contempt while commissioning white elephant projects worth billions of Naira, he would have had no need to be afraid of the coalition,” he said.
Abdullahi added that the coalition was not based on personal grievances but on the growing poverty and hardship in the country.
“If we have any grievances, it is the way the government he is a part of has driven the majority of Nigerians into poverty and misery,” he said.
He also accused Wike of helping to weaken the PDP.
“We are aggrieved that Minister Wike has allowed himself to be used by the government he serves to destroy one of the most powerful political parties in Africa, the PDP,” Abdullahi.
Abdullahi said it was too late to stop the coalition. “The coalition movement belongs to the Nigerian people, who had been promised renewed hope but have been served renewed hopelessness. No amount of attacks on our leaders can stop this popular movement,” he said.