A prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Dr Dennis Osahon Aikoriogie, has decried the recent protests against the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief (Barr.) Nyesom Wike, describing them as unfair and ethnically motivated.
He disclosed this in a statement released on Tuesday.Dr Aikoriogie lauded Wike’s leadership, noting that the FCT has witnessed infrastructural development “unseen in decades,” and called on well-meaning Nigerians to “rise above petty ethnic sentiments” and acknowledge the minister’s transformative work.
“From the day Chief Wike assumed office, he made it clear that he was not in Abuja for politics or propaganda — he came to deliver. And he is delivering, daily,” said Aikoriogie. “This is not a matter of opinion; it is a fact backed by visible, tangible achievements.”
He highlighted a wide range of projects currently being executed across the territory, from the rehabilitation and construction of roads, bridges, and water projects to improved electrification and street lighting, especially in previously neglected rural communities such as Ketti, Gwagwalada, Abaji, and Bwari.
“Remote villages that had long been forgotten are now connected to the city. These are roads that change lives, linking farmers to markets, children to schools, and patients to healthcare,” Aikoriogie emphasised.
He also credited Wike’s leadership with improved security across the FCT, citing the strategic rollout of street lighting across the city and its outskirts, which he said has deterred criminal activity and revitalised nighttime commerce and mobility.
Regarding water access, Dr Aikoriogie praised the administration’s delivery of clean pipe-borne water to underserved areas: “Mothers no longer need to walk miles with buckets. Children are drinking clean water. These are quiet revolutions that change lives.”
Condemning the recent protests as “politically motivated and laced with ethnic undertones,” he warned against reducing national development to tribal narratives. “Chief Wike is not building Abuja for any particular tribe or religion. He is developing it for all Nigerians — Christians, Muslims, northerners, southerners. The FCT belongs to us all.”
Dr Aikoriogie urged residents of the FCT and Nigerians to support the minister’s ongoing efforts and resist the distractions of “those who benefit from division and underdevelopment.”
“While they stage protests, Wike is laying asphalt. While they fan ethnic sentiments, Wike is digging boreholes. While they seek headlines, Wike is delivering light, water, and connectivity to the people,” he concluded.
The statement passionately defends Wike’s leadership and calls for unity in support of continued progress in the Federal Capital Territory.
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