From Victor Osula, Abuja
The National Coalition of Political Opposition Movement has dismissed the recent outburst by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, describing his comments on the newly formed alliance under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a sign of panic.
The coalition warned that no amount of tirade would save Wike or the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from being voted out of office in 2027.
Wike, during a media chat on Thursday, took a swipe at members of the opposition coalition who, a day earlier, announced their takeover of the ADC structure, branding them a “gang of failed and expired politicians.”
He said, “I heard David Mark say they want to rescue Nigeria. That Nigerians are not happy. But the man was Senate President for eight years, and Nigerians were happy? There was no single project in Otukpo. Not one. He was flying with a helicopter to Otukpo. Nigerians were not angry then, but they are angry now?
“Amaechi was minister. He took Chinese loans and made Nigeria so indebted to China. So, Nigerians were happy then? Malami wrote something so shameful. He was AGF. What did he do to resolve security challenges? Tambuwal was Speaker and later governor—what changed under his watch? Even Bolaji Abdullahi only moved to the ADC because he fell out with his godfather, Bukola Saraki.”
In a swift response, the spokesperson for the Coalition Movement, Bolaji Abdullahi, dismissed Wike’s remarks as baseless, saying his frustrations only expose the growing anxiety within the ruling party.
“No amount of tirade against the leaders of the coalition can stem the tide of this popular movement,” Abdullahi said in a statement issued Thursday.
“If the minister and the government he serves had kept their promises to Nigerians, this coalition would not have been necessary, and he wouldn’t be this jittery.
“If Minister Wike had paid the salaries of FCT primary school teachers who have been on strike for months, and if he had not treated workers with such disdain while commissioning white elephant projects worth billions of naira, he would have no reason to fear.”
Abdullahi further accused the APC-led government of driving millions into poverty, saying, “We are aggrieved because the poor can no longer send their children to school. We are aggrieved by the worsening insecurity in the FCT under Wike’s watch. And we are deeply disappointed that he allowed himself to be used to destroy one of Africa’s most powerful political parties, the PDP.”
He concluded by insisting that the coalition is not about personalities but about the collective will of Nigerians betrayed by broken promises.
“It is too late in the day to cry. The coalition movement belongs to Nigerians who were promised renewed hope but have instead been served renewed hopelessness,” he said.
