Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has attacked the opposition politicians who recently seized power in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) harshly, calling them a “gang of failed and expired politicians” who are incapable of providing any real answers to Nigeria’s problems.
Wike criticized important coalition members during his monthly news briefing on Thursday, casting doubt on their track records and calling their new partnership opportunistic.
On Wednesday, the leaders of the opposition alliance announced and embraced ADC as their platform for overthrowing President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
Former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola serves as the national secretary of the resurrected party, which is chaired by former Senate President Senator David Mark.
The leaders of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Labour Party make up the coalition. Since the 2023 presidential election, the PDP and Labour Party have been enmeshed in turmoil, but the APC has stayed steady.
Former Justice Minister Abubakar Malami, former Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi, and ADC leader David Mark have all resigned from their positions in the PDP and APC, respectively.
However, yesterday’s spat between the two groups over whether their 2023 presidential candidate should quit the party within 48 hours turned Peter Obi’s membership in the Labour Party into a tense situation.
In a same vein, some disgruntled party members including former ADC presidential candidate Dumebi Kachikwu have objected to the coalition’s appropriation of the party.
The coalition leaders, according to Kachikwu, who flew the party’s presidential flag in 2023, are guys of the past that Nigerians are sick of.
Additionally, he asserted that the leaders of the alliance are determined to field former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s 2027 candidate and have little interest in holding onto power in the South.
Wike attacks ADC leaders
The FCT minister specifically challenged former Senate President David Mark, who currently serves as the ADC’s chair, for his recent claim that the coalition is working to save Nigeria.
David Mark told me that Nigerians are upset and that they want to save their country. However, this same individual served as president of the Senate for eight years. Then, were Nigerians content?
His hometown of Otukpo has no single initiative. Not one. While his people had nothing, he was circling in a helicopter. Nigerians weren’t upset back then, so why are they upset now?
“As PDP leader in his state, he couldn’t even deliver his constituency,” he added, mocking Mark’s political clout. While he lost, his daughter was elected to the House of Representatives under the APC. What does that indicate to you?
Wike also accused Rotimi Amaechi, the former minister of transportation, of making Nigeria’s debt load worse.
For eight years, Amaechi served as a minister. He left Nigeria deeply indebted after taking out enormous loans from China. Then, were Nigerians content? He inquired.
Wike commented, “I saw Sirika in this coalition,” in reference to the failed national carrier concept of former Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika. How did Air Nigeria fare? Nothing to show for the billions invested. Did Nigerians find that satisfactory?
The FCT minister called former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami’s recent remarks disgraceful and reserved some of his harshest remarks for him.
For eight years, Malami served as AGF. How did he increase security? He is now acting as though he had nothing to do with the issue,” Wike remarked.
Wike questioned the legislative and executive records of former Sokoto Governor Aminu Tambuwal, thus he did not spare him.
After four years as Speaker, Tambuwal served as governor for eight years. What did he accomplish? How did he calm the ire of Nigerians? He made a demand.
The former Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi’s transfer to the ADC was also rejected by the FCT minister as being driven by politics.
Abdullahi just joined ADC as a result of a falling out with Bukola Saraki, his godfather. That’s desperation, not leadership,” Wike remarked.
Wike recognized that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is still the only opposition party that can take on President Bola Tinubu, if it can overcome its internal strife, notwithstanding his harsh condemnation of the ADC coalition.
“The PDP is the only party that can still legitimately challenge Tinubu today—but only if we organize our house,” he said.
“Recycled politicians who failed Nigerians when they had power” is how Wike described the ADC takeover.
“They were content while they were in power, but now that they are no longer in office, Nigeria needs’rescuing.'” “Nigerian people are not idiots,” he said.
Ahead of the upcoming election cycle, the ADC coalition—which consists of a number of well-known PDP and APC defectors—has established itself as a powerful opposition force.
Wike Warns Opposition Coalition to Quit Using Nigerians for Selfish Politics
Nyesom Wike also charged that the leaders of the opposition alliance were taking advantage of the unhappiness of the country for their own political ends.
The minister insisted that coalition members’ prior performance in administration should preclude them from pretending to be the country’s saviors and demanded accountability from them.
“You claim that Nigerians are upset because you have a problem with someone, and then you go on and join a coalition. Let’s take Nigeria’s problems seriously, please. All of them are challenged to provide their scorecards. “When they were in charge, what did they do to improve the nation?” he said.
Wike discussed his office’s constraints with regard to the N18 billion in arrears owed to the educators in response to the ongoing teachers’ strike in the Federal Capital Territory.
He described his intervention actions, which included withholding 10% of the councils’ domestically generated revenue, and clarified that “the area councils, not the FCT Administration, are to pay these monies.”
Wike acknowledged the difficulty of resolving the labor dispute under the FCT’s governance system and said, “We have taken several actions, but there’s only so much we can do when the debt reaches N18 billion.”
The ADC Coalition’s Desperate Presidency Power Grab
In a same vein, the Presidency has rejected opposition leaders’ embrace of the ADC as a last-ditch effort to gain control, claiming it lacks organization, ideology, and a sense of national purpose.
Sunday Dare, the president’s special adviser on media and public communications, responded to the alliance in a statement published on his verified X handle (@SundayDareSD). He called the coalition a “desperate power grab” that was motivated more by personal ambition than by any justifiable grievance or patriotic cause.
Dare warned Nigerians against drawing comparisons between the coalition and the 2013 merger that gave rise to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and ousted Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the country’s incumbent president at the time. He stated, “There is no injustice to redress—only avaricious ambition to satisfy.”
The opposition front lacks the coherence, political structure, and legitimacy that characterized the APC’s rise, the presidential adviser claims.
He pointed out that its proponents are motivated by their own desperate need for power and prominence rather than by a shared goal.
Without mentioning names, Dare stated, “A serial election loser is at the core of this coalition, clinging to what he perceives to be his final chance at the presidency.” He joined the coalition by himself, without the support of his state governor, his region, or any significant political organization, in contrast to Tinubu. His aspirations are not patriotic; they are personal.
Dare emphasized that the 2013 APC merger was driven by people prepared to put the greater good ahead of their own goals and was a reaction to the general discontent with the PDP, which was in power at the time.
Dare recounted how then-national opposition leader President Bola Tinubu put aside his ambitions to become president in order to assist in creating a powerful coalition that united significant political groups under a single party.
The 2013 merger that gave rise to the APC was motivated by strategic discipline, national interest, and selflessness. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu decided to wait even though he had the support of a number of current governors. He took his time, looked ahead, and concentrated on creating a strong political platform,” he said.
Dare also attributed Muhammadu Buhari’s role in the APC’s win, characterizing the former president as a unifying leader with integrity and shown grassroots support that fostered trust across the country.
Nobody in this coalition is able to command that kind of confidence or allegiance. Dare contended that none of them could actually bring a ward, much less a nation, together.
He added that real concerns like the perceived marginalization of some areas and the wish to put a stop to what many saw as 16 years of PDP misgovernance were the driving forces behind the APC’s foundation.
Dare asserted that the president is already assigned to an area that “is rightfully due” and will stay so until 2031, accusing the current opposition coalition of lacking any moral or political basis.
“This new alliance? The only reason is opportunistic. The region already has the rightful claim to the president. And it will remain there until 2031,” Dare said.
Coalition Leaders Are Accused by Kachukwu of Using the Party for Their Own Benefits
Members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have also criticized the newcomers to the party.
Dumebi Kachikwu, the ADC’s 2023 presidential candidate, has charged that the leaders of the recently established opposition coalition led by the ADC are using the party for their own personal benefit.
Kachukwu made the claim Tuesday in Abuja while addressing reporters.
He called the alliance between prominent opposition leaders—former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, and former Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi—a “backdoor plot” to install a different northern candidate for the 2027 elections.
Read Also: ‘Opposition Is Falling Into Tinubu’s Trap’ – Datti Baba-Ahmed Warns Coalition
He asserted that the coalition was deliberately constructed from the start to give Atiku Abubakar the 2027 presidential ticket, calling such a goal a breach of Nigeria’s norms of power rotation.
“Let the coalition boldly declare today that the South will produce the 2027 presidential candidate. We’ll greet them at the front door if they do that,” he declared.
Additionally, he charged that the coalition leaders were planning a hostile takeover of the ADC by marginalizing both established structures and grassroots party members by deploying well-known political figures.
These individuals go to the same gatherings, meetings, and weddings. They have been pals for a long time. They are adversaries of progress and are not here to save Nigeria. These same actors cannot save us since we are all victims of a broken system. According to him, the coalition was created to produce Atiku as the presidential candidate.
Amaechi: The Coalition Will Adhere to the Power Rotation Principle in 2027
However, former Rivers State governor Chibuike Amaechi stated that the coalition must make sure that electricity stays in the south in accordance with the power rotation arrangement, thereby refuting Kachikwu’s assertion.
According to Amaechi, who was a guest on Channels TV’s Politics Today program yesterday, the power must stay in the south in 2027.
Despite being vague about his goals, he insisted that the movement to transfer power to the south would continue.
You’re nervous around us, ADC spokesperson responds to Wike
But according to the ADC, Wike’s response to the new opposition movement revealed a deep-seated concern about the danger the coalition’s effective revelation would pose to the administration he leads.
In a statement, coalition movement spokesman Mal. Bolaji Abdullahi said, “The coalition movement would not have been required and he would not have needed to be so jittery if the minister and the government he serves had kept their promises to the Nigerian people.”
“Minister Wike would not have needed to fear the coalition if he had not paid the salaries of primary school teachers who have been on strike for several months and if he had not treated FCT workers with such disdain while he went about commissioning white elephant projects costing billions of Naira.”
“If we have any grievances, it is the way the government he is a part of has driven the majority of Nigerians into poverty and misery,” the ADC spokesman stated in response to Wike’s assertion that the coalition leaders are motivated solely by grievances.
We find it unfair that impoverished children cannot receive an education as the government is unable to cover the salaries of their teachers. Seeing the increasing insecurity he oversees in the FCT makes us angry. We are upset that Minister Wike has permitted the government he works for to use him to dismantle the PDP, one of Africa’s most potent political parties.
The Nigerian people, who were promised new hope but were instead met with new despair, are the rightful owners of the coalition movement, Abdullahi maintained.
Hence, he concluded, “no amount of ranting against the coalition’s leaders could stop the momentum of this popular movement.”
