Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has boasted that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other opposition elements lack the wherewithal to challenge, let alone wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.
The former governor of Rivers State declared that ADC lacks the grassroots structure required to challenge the ruling party, stressing that Nigeria’s electoral success is driven largely by local political structures, not narratives in the media.He said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is the only opposition party that can give the APC a fight in the election and urged it to resolve its protracted internal issues and demonstrate tangible achievements if it hopes to be competitive in future elections.
The FCT minister downplayed allegations that he pledged to “hold down” the PDP for President Bola Tinubu, calling it a “blatant lie.”Makinde recently told journalists that Wike, during a visit to the State House in 2024, promised President Tinubu that he would “hold PDP” for him.
Reacting, Wike said the meeting had nothing to do with the PDP but was meant to show support for Tinubu’s leadership and assure him of continued support.According to him, his support for Tinubu had never been hidden and did not require any special meeting to affirm.
“Seyi said I told Tinubu that I would hold PDP for him. Nothing like that happened.
“Everyone knows my position on Tinubu. I don’t need a meeting to tell him that,” Wike said.
Wike questioned the basis of Makinde’s claim and asked why the Oyo governor failed to brief the PDP leadership on the alleged discussion.“First of all, let us ask: what was the purpose of that meeting? Why did Makinde not come out to tell the party that this is what Wike said?” he asked.
“There was no such meeting. What was the purpose of that meeting that would have led me to say, ‘Mr. President, I will hold PDP for you’?
“Why did Makinde not come up all this while to tell the party, ‘see what Wike is doing’? I was in a meeting and saw what Wike said. It’s not correct.
“And let me put the record straight: there was no such meeting. Rather, my humble self, the former governor of Abia state, Okezie Ikpeazu; the former governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom; Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; and Makinde went to see the president.
“That is so unfair to say that I said that I will hold PDP down for you. If you look at that media chat, you will see that Makinde was frustrated.”The minister said that he would do wonders if he had N500 billion in FCT account, stressing that FCT gets only 1 percent of the share of the Federal Government (FG) from the federation account.
“Take for example, if FG gets N1 trillion, one percent is N10 million and that is not enough to pay salary. I will have to go back to Internally Generated Revenue, but look at what is happening in Abuja. With the little we have got, we have been able to do the best that we can for the residents of FCT.”
He, however, cautioned that money has its own limitations, adding that there were areas where money could not go but goodwill would take someone there.
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