BY EVELYN DADU – The battle lines for the heart and soul of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been drawn in high-stakes, golden ink with the Minister Nyesom Wike, offering a staggering N10 million bounty to every local Councillor to deliver their wards to President Bola Amed Tinubu and and other All Progressives Congress candidates in the 2027 general elections.
In a bold and unbridled display of electoral muscle, Wike said the promise is meant to ensure there is no room for errors as the ruling party seeks to display unshakeable grassroots dominance across the nation’s capital come 2027 general elections’
Addressing a packed house of Rainbow Coalition stakeholders’ meeting attended by traditional rulers, heavy-weight power-brokers, and eager residents in the Kwali Area Council, Wike cast himself as the unyielding commander of the capital’s political field declaring that, “Any councillor that delivers his ward will get N10 million reward”.In his ouncillors marching orders to mobilise residents and community groups to secure victory for the APC in their respective wards, Wike’s voice again thundered through the hall in what many considered an ironclad decree, say: “Therefore, go and meet your leaders, go and meet your youth groups, go and consult with associations. Let’s deliver our ward to Mr. President.”
The Minister, who also endorsed Senator Philip Aduda for the FCT Senate seat and Danladi Chiya for the Abuja South Federal Constituency, further declared: “I don’t need to preach to you any longer. The one you are seeing is what you follow, not the one that will give you unfulfilled promises. I will go to sleep tonight because I know Kwali, Gwagwalada, and Abaji are 100 per cent for APC.”
Wike Slams Opposition Parties
Not sparing opposition parties and political figures in his tirades, the Minister accused them of double standards and hypocrisy over their reactions to judicial rulings, referencing the judgment that voided the ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar as one of such instances.
Wike, while citing the opposition’s reactions to different legal outcomes, said their assessment of the judiciary depended on whether court decisions favoured them, saying: “When ADC had a matter in court and won at the Supreme Court, they said, ‘The court is the last hope,’ ‘The court has saved democracy,’ and ‘We know our judiciary will not fail us.’
“But when they lost a court case, it became: ‘The President is using the court to fight the opposition.’ When it is good for you, the judiciary is clear. When it is bad, you claim they are using it to destroy democracy. What kind of system are we operating?”
Stoutly defending his administration’s policy of providing brand-new Sport Utility Vehicles to first-class traditional rulers in the FCT, which has attracted criticism from some political commentators claiming that the action smacks of political inducement or bribe ahead of the 2027bgeneral elections.
He dismissed the allegations saying traditional rulers deserved dignity and respect, emphasing thus: “You want a first-class traditional ruler to be walking on the road with a stick in hand, taking public buses so they can get hit by a car one day? But you expect Chief Press Secretaries to Governors, Chairmen, and Presidents to ride SUVs?
“Instead of using their platforms to support good things, critics turn it upside down. We will provide for our traditional rulers, and nothing will come out of their complaints”.
Says Rainbow Coalition Working For FCT Residents
On the administration’s decision to undertake infrastructure projects across the FCT satellite towns, including the construction of more than 270 kilometres of roads, with 95 kilometres executed in Kwali, the Minister said the ongoing road projects across the satellite towns were nearing completion and would be inaugurated in December.
According to him, the Rainbow Coalition was working in the collective interest of FCT residents, adding that its grassroots structure was bridging political divides to promote effective representation and development.
“The kind of decision the President is taking is not one that other politicians will take, bringing us out from the shadow into reality, and that is what a good leader should be able to do for his people,” he said.
