Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Friday launched a scathing attack on the coalition movement, saying its leaders failed to make the lives of Nigerians better while they were in office.
The minister, who identified some of coalition leaders by name, said their quest to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027 with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) will not succeed.
Wike also lambasted the former minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, over a claim that his (Amaechi) wife is an industrialist.
The FCT minister said Amaechi’s wife was a contractor with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The minister, during a tell-all interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, claimed that Amaechi’s wife handled a contract worth N4 billion monthly to train Niger Delta women.
Wike’s reactions came barely 24 hours after Amaechi featured on the same programme on Channels TV, questioning the FCT minister’s wealth and attacking the Tinubu-led administration.
Amaechi, Wike’s predecessor as Rivers governor, is a key member of the recently unveiled coalition party, ADC, led by former Senate President David Mark as interim national chairman and former interior minister, Rauf Aregbesola, as its national secretary.
Other members of the coalition party are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi; former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai; former APC national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, among others.
Wike blasts coalition leaders
He said the coalition movement is led by people who are not sincere. “They were in government for so many years. What did they do?” he said.
He accused Mark and Aregbesola of not taking steps to improve the lives of Nigeria especially in the area of security.
“Take for instance, Aregbesola was minister of interior, what steps did he take to make those things that concerned internal affairs and all that better. Nothing”
He questioned the decisions the coalition leaders took while they were in office.
“All those talking about coalition. I don’t have a problem with coalition. But who is talking to me about coalition? The man who has been in government for many years.”
He lampooned David Mark saying he was a governor in Niger State at 36, becaame a minister at 38 years and became senate president at 59.
“Now tell me, when you (Mark) were governor in Niger state, what did you do there? When you were minister of communication remember he said the phone is not for the poor. Today he is telling Nigerians, he wants to rescue Nigerians.”
The minister noted that the Tinubu administration inherited a bad economy and had to take hard decisions to reposition the country on the right path
Wike had earlier faulted opposition politicians for forming the coalition just 18 months after the inauguration of President Bola Tinubu in 2023—barely six months into his administration.
He also challenged members of the coalition to present their scorecards and show Nigerians what they achieved while in office, instead of claiming that Nigerians were angry.
He spoke during the inauguration of the Aguma Palace–New Market–Radio Nigeria road in Gwagwalada.
Amaechi’s wife was NDDC contractor
The minister, while refuting a claim by Amaechi that his wife is an industrialist, said she was handling a contract with the NDDC worth N4 billion to train women from the region monthly for 1 year (N48 billion).
Wike further called on the Federal Government to make public the findings of the forensic audit conducted on the NDDC.
The forensic audit, initiated by the federal government under former President Muhammadu Buhari, was meant to investigate financial transactions and project execution by the NDDC from 2001 to August 2019.
The probe sought to uncover mismanagement, fraud, and other irregularities.
“Let President Bola Ahmed Tinubu do us a favour and release the report of the forensic audit of the NDDC. Mr. President should help Nigerians.
“Let them release the document. If what I am saying is not in the document, I will resign as the Minister of FCT. I don’t worship the office,” he said.
He further claimed that the former Attorney-General and justice minister, Abubakar Malami killed that report.
“That’s how Amaechi’s wife became an industrialist — four billion naira every month to train Niger Delta women,” Wike revealed.
The minister further accused Amaechi of being corrupt.
When questioned about his own stance on corruption, the FCT minister denied any wrongdoing but acknowledged his need for wealth.
“When you use the word corrupt, no court has found me guilty of corruption. I like money; nobody can do without money. You can not say because I said I need money to solve problems, therefore, I’m corrupt. No,” he said.
He further justified his financial pursuits, stating, “I need money to pay my children’s school fees. I need money for my family’s healthcare. Does that make me corrupt? No.”
The minister also dismissed Amaechi’s past claims of not being money-driven, calling him a ‘big liar.’
“But when a man comes to the public to say, ‘I don’t like money,’ you know he is a big liar because he needs money to solve his problems,” Wike said.
Wike went further to contrast his background with Amaechi’s, saying that his family had always been comfortable.
“Talking about houses, I am not a bush man. I am from Obio/Akpor LGA. If you go to Ikwerre Road, my father is one of the few people who had duplexes there. Not too rich, but not from the level Amaechi came from, no,” he said.
Rolls Royce saga
Speaking further he said, “I won’t say I was too rich like the Dangotes, but I didn’t have a small background. His (Amaechi’s) anger is that he saw me using a Rolls-Royce, and so what?
“It was not given to me by a contractor. A contractor gave him (Amaechi) one, and that was a bribe. He took from a contractor, but I will not do that. He is one of the most corrupt people,” the FCT minister said.
He however declined to give details of the peace deal reached between him and suspended Rivers State governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Recall that Wike, Fubara and the House of Assembly members recently met with President Tinubu where they reached a deal to shelve their grievances.
Wike is a mere entertainer – ADC
However, the spokesman for the coalition movement and the ADC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi asked Nigerians to ignore Wike, saying the former governor of Rivers State is an entertainer.
Abdullahi, who was a former minister of sports, said no serious Nigeria would take Wike serious.
He said, ‘‘Wike doesn’t know what he is saying. He wants everyone to come to his level but we won’t. We are committed to stay on the message and we don’t have time for those personal attacks. He is there as an entertainer.’’
