• Describes himself as infantry commander of FCT, Rivers politics
•Says NBA under past leadership allegedly acted like political party
•Accuses Govs Uzodimma, AbdulRazaq of campaign of calumny
•Defends inclusion of Betta Edu in APC campaign council
Emmanuel Addeh and Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, yesterday declared that he would become the main target of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and his counterpart at the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, should President Bola Tinubu lose the 2027 presidential election.
Wike, who spoke during a media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said his unwavering support for Tinubu’s re-election had placed him directly in the sights of opposition politicians, but insisted that the possibility of political reprisals would not weaken his resolve.
“I will be the first politician that I think they will come after. I will be the first politician. I know they will come for my head,” Wike said, stressing that he’s continuously thinking about winning next year’s poll for Tinubu.
“If anything happens, and Mr President fails today, I will be the first politician that Atiku, Obi will hunt for his head So, I don’t, I didn’t make that mistake to be sleeping to see that the President loses the election. No, because I know they will come for my head,” Wike stated.
“Each day I sleep, I am thinking about the president’s reelection. When I am eating, I think about the president’s reelection. Everything I am doing now is about the president’s reelection,” he emphasised.
The former Rivers State governor said he had endured intense criticism and name-calling because of his political position, but maintained that he remained unconcerned about what his opponents thought of him.
“I don’t see where anybody in this country today has been called names the way my name has been. I am not bothered about people who say their own thing. My business is, like I said, I am going to support Mr President,” he stated.
Wike, who has always maintained that he remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) despite openly supporting the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration and Tinubu’s re-election, also described himself as the “General Commander of the Political Infantry” in both the FCT and Rivers State.
“You do not need to be governor before you can be in charge. I am the General Commander of the Political Infantry; therefore, I am in charge. So also in FCT. I owe the president to give these two. As far as the election is concerned, you count FCT as a state,” he declared.
The minister said his frequent visits to Rivers State were intended to enable him reconnect with his political base and monitor developments ahead of the 2027 elections.
“It’s not about relocating; it’s about coming home to reconnect with my people and talk to them, not taking chances… so that they don’t just sit in Abuja and think everything is going well,” he said.
“I have to come back home and see how those things are going on. My coming home is very good and not only political. I have parents who are still alive; I have to see them and do other things. Politics, of course … This is the time. You want me to fold my hand for Atiku to come and win the election?” he asked.
Wike also launched a scathing attack on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), accusing the body of abandoning its traditional role as an independent defender of justice and constitutionalism and allegedly becoming involved in partisan politics.
The FCT minister criticised the NBA’s 2026 Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, accusing the association of providing a platform for opposition politicians to promote their political ambitions.
He described the conference as poorly organised and insisted that he would not attend what he termed a jamboree. “Organisation was zero. Why? Instead of you focusing on the real thing the NBA conference was supposed to be, they started playing politics.
“They started having it as a ground for opposition parties to sell themselves. Anybody who knows me knows that I don’t attend something that’s a jamboree. I will not attend something that traders are in charge of.
“The last leadership of the NBA shows that there was a trading. You saw the outcry; the NBA has never had that kind of conference since the NBA started. It was a complete flop. The Nigerian Bar Association has now taken sides politically. They are now a political party,” Wike alleged.
The minister also renewed his attacks on his predecessor as Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, questioning his suitability to serve as Nigeria’s vice president.
Wike accused Amaechi of shutting down courts during his tenure as governor and alleged that a pregnant woman gave birth in prison during the period.
“Rotimi Amaechi, who wants to be vice president today, once shut down the courts in Rivers State and caused a pregnant woman to give birth in prison,” Wike said, arguing that such allegations and past actions should be critically examined before Amaechi could be entrusted with higher political responsibility.
He also accused the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, and the Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, of allegedly engaging in a campaign of calumny against him despite the political support he said he had extended to them in the past.
“Take for example, Kwara, he has been the one championing this campaign against me everywhere. Yes, I have confronted him too. I don’t talk about what I cannot defend,” Wike said.
The minister faulted AbdulRazaq over allegations that he sponsored candidates against the governor’s preferred choices in Kwara State, arguing that the governor should instead acknowledge the political support he had received.
Wike also said political differences with the two governors would not affect his commitment to Tinubu’s re-election, rejecting allegations that he was working against APC governors.
He challenged his critics to state the support they had previously given him before accusing him of undermining their political interests.
On the controversy surrounding the inclusion of former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, and other persons facing investigations, in the APC’s 2027 Presidential Campaign Council, Wike argued that an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) did not amount to a conviction and should not automatically disqualify anyone from political participation.
He said: “You were asking the moral justification of putting someone who has an EFCC case to be in a campaign council. And I was just watching the lady. The lady doesn’t even know what to say. Now, somebody cannot be in a campaign to canvass for votes for a particular person, but somebody who has an EFCC case can contest an election and win an election?”
The minister said there had been instances in which persons facing criminal allegations or court cases contested elections and emerged victorious.
“This person had an EFCC case in court, charged to court. He contested an election and became a governor,” he said, without identifying the individual.
Wike further argued that even a person serving a prison sentence retained the ability to express political preferences and canvass support for a candidate.
“Listen. Even a prisoner… maybe they have somebody in prison. I go and visit the person. The person can tell me, ‘My brother, I want you to support so-and-so candidate.’ A prisoner has canvassed for vote,” he said.
The minister also referred to an unnamed individual allegedly linked to a coup plot, questioning the criticism that followed reports that such a person had supported a political candidate.
He maintained that an ongoing investigation alone could not prevent a political party or candidate from accepting an individual’s support during an election campaign.
“But a party, or a candidate cannot, simply because EFCC is investigating the person, cannot be a member of the campaign council to campaign for votes,” Wike said.
