By Vincent Egunyanga, Abuja
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Monday described leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as “political deceivers,” accusing them of misleading Nigerians with false claims of democratic reforms and credible opposition politics.
Wike spoke during his monthly media chat in Abuja, where he criticised the opposition parties over what he termed internal contradictions, manipulated primary elections and lack of transparency in their political processes.
The former Rivers State governor said the crises and protests that trailed recent opposition primaries had exposed what he described as hypocrisy among politicians who portray themselves as agents of democratic change.
“They said they are the saviour that will come. What has happened now?” Wike queried.
“NDC said we are the new face of democracy. ADC said this kind of party is a party that hasn’t been polluted one day, is a party that God just brought from the womb.
“What has happened? So dirty. See what has happened in the NDC. As small as they are, they cannot do a primary without protest.”
The minister said recent developments within the ADC had shown that the opposition coalition was not different from the parties it had consistently criticised.
“Look at ADC, who said it’s a coalition to take over from APC to stop the distortion of democracy. What has happened?” he asked.
“While the congress was going on, two presidential aspirants said, ‘we cannot believe that you will perpetrate this. We have been accusing this party of doing this. Now see what we are doing, see what we have done.”
Wike insisted that Nigerians had now seen through what he described as deceptive political narratives being pushed by opposition figures.
“So that now tells you, who is deceiving who? Who is coming to Nigeria to tell them a lie ‘that we are the newborn baby, the messiahs of the time of Nigeria. This is what we want to do.’
“Nigerians have now known you’re all liars. They can’t be using us. They can’t be deceiving us,” he said.
The FCT minister also took a swipe at former Minister of Transportation and ex-Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, describing his decision to contest the 2027 presidential primary on the ADC platform as a political miscalculation.
Wike, who served as Chief of Staff to Amaechi during his tenure as Rivers governor, alleged that the ADC’s structure was deliberately designed to favour former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
“Amaechi is my brother. I served as Chief of Staff in his government. When I saw him running with them, I knew what would happen. If he had called me, I would have said, ‘Don’t go there.’ It was very clear he would not get transparency or due process,” he stated.
According to him, the emergence of former Senate President David Mark as the party’s chairman signposted what he called a predetermined outcome.
“When I saw the set-up in ADC and saw David Mark there, I laughed. When you have worked with these people, you know who is who and what they are capable of doing. That set-up was Atiku’s set-up 100 per cent,” Wike declared.
“You cannot set a trap for me. We know ourselves as politicians. Who told you that kind of structure would give you transparency? Who told you that kind of structure would give you free and fair elections?”
He further argued that Amaechi was influenced by growing criticisms against the present administration and rushed into the coalition without carefully assessing its internal political dynamics.
“I think my brother made a mistake. He was too much in a hurry. He was carried away by people shouting that this government is not doing well. They used that to lure people in and give themselves credibility,” he added.
On governance issues in the Federal Capital Territory, Wike defended the administration’s ongoing clampdown on roadside trading and illegal commercial activities across Abuja, insisting it was necessary to protect the city’s master plan.
The minister said traders had been provided with designated markets and could not continue operating at road junctions or unauthorised locations.
“When the government says, look, this is not where it is provided for you to trade and try to chase them away, the next thing you see is a programme in media houses on how the government has not provided an alternative place for them, which is not correct. There are markets. Go to the market and sell your product,” he said.
Wike maintained that indiscriminate trading constituted a nuisance and undermined Abuja’s status as Nigeria’s capital city.
“You can’t be here. There’s no market here. Why do you have to come to the junction to stay and sell your goods? That one also constitutes a nuisance,” he stated.
“This is the only city we have in Nigeria. We cannot allow it to be destroyed simply because someone is saying, ‘I want to go and see where I can find my stomach.’ That does not mean you should not do what the law provides.”
The minister also addressed concerns over the continued presence of roaming cattle within Abuja, disclosing that the Federal Government was promoting ranching as part of measures to remove livestock from the city.
“The President has said, ‘Look, let’s do ranching and see how we can take these cows out of the city.’ It is an eyesore. It is not fair, it is not good,” Wike said.
He, however, admitted that the challenge had not been fully resolved and apologised to residents over the situation.
“I apologise for that and take responsibility for that; up till now there are cows. But you should also face the reality. It is not easy as you are saying it here,” he added.
