Wike panicking over growing opposition coalition – ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has lashed out at the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, accusing him of panicking over the growing momentum of the newly unveiled coalition of opposition parties aimed at challenging President Bola Tinubu’s government in the 2027 general elections.

In a statement issued Thursday by Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesperson for the coalition movement, the ADC described Wike’s recent verbal attacks on opposition leaders during a media chat as “virulent” and unbecoming of a federal minister.

“We believe Minister 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,” the statement read.

The opposition party said Wike’s outburst was an admission that the coalition poses a real threat to the ruling establishment, especially in light of what it called the administration’s broken promises and worsening hardship for Nigerians.

“If Minister Wike and the government he serves had kept their promises to the Nigerian people, the coalition movement would not have been necessary, and he would not have had a need to be so jittery,” it said.

The party criticised Wike’s performance as FCT Minister, alleging poor treatment of workers and prioritisation of “white elephant projects” over pressing welfare issues. Specifically, it condemned his failure to resolve the prolonged strike by primary school teachers in the capital.

“We are aggrieved to see children of the poor unable to get education because he would not pay their teachers’ salaries,” the coalition added. “We are aggrieved to watch the growing insecurity in the FCT that he superintends.”

Wike had earlier dismissed the coalition movement as a gathering of disgruntled politicians driven by personal grievances, but the ADC said if the opposition is aggrieved, it is because of the suffering inflicted on ordinary Nigerians by the current administration.

The coalition further accused Wike of enabling the destruction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he once championed, alleging that he had allowed himself to be used by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“But it is rather too late in the day to cry,” the ADC said. “The coalition movement belongs to the Nigerian people who had been promised renewed hope, but have been served renewed hopelessness. Therefore, no amount of tirade against the leaders of the coalition could stem the tide of this popular movement.”

The statement comes amid a flurry of political realignments and rising tensions in the build-up to 2027, with several opposition parties, including ADC, Labour Party, and key PDP stakeholders reportedly in talks to form a formidable alliance to unseat the APC-led government.

Wike, a former Rivers State governor, has remained a polarising figure within the PDP and the larger political landscape, with critics accusing him of working at cross-purposes with his party’s interests while serving in President Tinubu’s cabinet.