Why I Prefer Tinubu to Other Political Leaders — Wike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, in this interview with select journalists in Abuja, disclosed that courage and ability to identify political plots are key elements in leadership, stressing that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has demonstrated both virtues in delivering on his presidential mandate.

On Rotimi Amaechi and ADC coalition
He is my brother. I served as Chief of Staff to his government. When I saw that he was running with Atiku, I saw the entire thing as a set up. If he had called me, I would have advised him against contesting on that platform. It was very clear that he cannot get transparency or due process.

The issue is not about whether we are friends or not. …There is no law that says I shouldn’t be knowledgeable in everything in politics. And let me tell you, that’s why I can comfortably challenge any party. When I see anybody in party A or B, I can clearly say it’s not me you will preach to about who is corrupt or not, go and preach to others because I know you.

Take for example when I saw the set up in ADC. I saw (Senator) David Mark there and I laughed. I laughed because when you have worked with people, when you have played (politics) with them, you know who is who, who will do what. That set up was Atiku’s set up 100 per cent.

In politics, you can’t set a trap for me; you cannot! We know ourselves as politicians. Who told you that that kind of structure will give you transparency? Who told you that that kind of structure will give you free and fair elections?

Amaechi, my brother, made a mistake. He was in too much of a hurry. He was carried away by those who were busy shouting that this government is not doing well. (But) they did all that to lure all of them into ADC to give (the platform) credibility. Are these the kind of people that will fight the government? It’s not that they are coming as a coalition, never. I said so from day one.

After Obi saw that the entire scheme was in favour of Atiku, he left. But my brother was thinking that with that (Obi’s exit) he would have an opportunity not knowing that every loop had been tied totally for Atiku. They laid that ambush and everybody entered. This was my experience.

When I was running, David Mark was the Chief Electoral Officer – a well-respected former Senate President for eight years; former senator of more than 12 years standing. But by the dictates of electoral regulation and fairness, campaign activities were billed for a specific time frame. That is to say campaign activities will stop at a stated time.

All the aspirants were allowed to come and talk to the delegates. Every aspirant came out; I spoke and then (Aminu) Tambuwal spoke last. It was then time to get into voting.

Suddenly, (Mark) came up again to say there’s an announcement. Guess what was the announcement? I thought maybe the man (Tambuwal) was stepping down, either because of ill health or that he does not want to continue because the kind of wave I was carrying was too much.

Everybody heard when I was addressing the people and saw how the Kano delegates hailed me and saw that there was danger. So, they called Tambuwal back, and he said, ‘my dear brothers, I hereby step down’. I thought that at that point it was okay, but he (Tambuwal) went ahead to say, ‘vote for my senior brother (Atiku).’

Yet, David Mark, the chief electoral empire did not give us (rest presidential aspirants) another opportunity, especially after Tambuwal had said vote for my senior brother. I would have come out to counter that.

So, that happened and let it slide, but I know them. I know everybody there (ADC coalition). For instance, look at Ben Obi. Ben Obi was following Peter Obi everywhere as South East leaders. If you are observant, you will notice that Ben Obi can never abandon Atiku. That is if you know their relationship.

Try to know people beyond merely seeing them so you can decode a lie. So, after Obi left, (Sam) Egwu left; did Ben Obi leave? He will never. As such, when you see certain people in a committee, especially the head and the tail (chairman and secretary), you don’t need me to tell you, ‘hey, that is a trap. Don’t go there.’

But they preached to Amaechi about transparency and he believed that he could win. That, to me, was why I believe he was angry.

What about Peter Obi and his promise of taking power generation from 5,000 to 10, 000 megawatts…

How do you know someone who can fight challenges? Yes, granted that Obi was a former governor. (But) Peter Obi likes
“food is ready”, “mama-put.” He does not want to struggle.

But if you look around in this country, there are many challenges. You must have the capacity to face those challenges. It is not when you encounter one problem, you shout, ‘oh this problem is too much let me move to so-so place.’

At least you all saw all the governors in PDP. I said I will not leave the party. They (Atiku group) had money, but it’s not money. I said that rather than leave, they will leave. Have I left? Have they not left?
Of Tinubu, leadership challenges and managing FCT

I maintain that it is the challenges you confront that makes you a leader; that’s what makes you a man. Leadership is not about easy opportunities or dashing you positions. For instance, when I came here as a minister, there was nothing I did not get; there was no abuse I did not receive.

My detractors were saying, ‘you think here is Port Harcourt, you can’t do it in Abuja,’ and things like that. I said it will be done! And I’m doing it. Heaven will not fall. In fact, heaven is at peace now. Heaven is at peace based on what we are achieving for the people in FCT.

We have had governments come and go. Everybody noticed that petroleum subsidy was a cancer. There was no past Federal Government that did not identify that fact. The question is: what did you do after identifying that? This is where leadership now comes in.

The present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came and said, ‘this is a problem that we must confront and resolve; how do I solve this problem? I must do this (removal of subsidy) and he did it.

There are cries of suffering; he said ‘yes there will be suffering, but it is suffering that will lead us for progress tomorrow.’ That is leadership. It doesn’t matter what the opponents will do to change the narrative.

You see, the worst of a leader that is called a leader is somebody who has identified a problem and cannot take a decision on how to solve that problem. They didn’t bring you here to just identify problems and go. You were brought in to identify a problem and be able to solve the problem.

Of course, there are problems that could be short-term or long-term. But the important thing is: have you laid a strong foundation to help in solving such problems? Problem-solving could entail a lot of difficulties, which is happening today.

Completed versus pending projects
When people talk about the many projects that this administration has embarked upon, they ask: are you going to achieve it at the end of the year? My answer is, yes, I’m going to achieve it. Leadership needs courage.

From Monday June 8, we shall begin the commissioning of projects and that will last 31 days. The commissioning will involve Mr. President and other leaders of the administration.

In 2025, we had 19 days of commissioning of impactful projects to the people of FCT. This 2026, it will be 31 days. We are supposed to start, subject to the convenience of Mr. President and his approval, on June 8. That is Monday next week.

And as I said, these projects are not only concentrated in the city centre, but also in the satellite towns, the area councils ranging from roads to water and to residences of public officers.

Let me start with the satellite towns. You agree with us that sometimes most people have actually claimed that those in the rural areas or what they may call the satellite towns do not feel the impact of government. As a result, they allege that there is no infrastructure in the local areas. That it has also affected them in terms of security.

I remember when we came on board; there was this issue of high insecurity, kidnapping in the rural areas and it was a very big problem for us and what we did was to go to the inner towns. We set up committees including indigenes who understand the terrain.

They were able to identify that the problems were mostly about the nature of the roads, which are mainly not accessible at all. And when these criminals attack, the residents cannot repel or fight back because once these attackers come they hit and run back, because there is no means to pursue them; even if you have a car you have nothing to do.

After they identified those problems, we started aggressive road construction in the satellite towns. For example, in Kwali, we were told that if you do so and so road, you have solved the security challenge in half, because that is where we think that the hoodlums come from. The story is the same in Gwagwalada, Abaji, Kuje and others.

So, we took cognisance of all that. We didn’t just sit here to say let’s go and do so, so road. The people nominated the roads that they want and that will be of use to them. I can tell you that today, those roads have been done and they have really helped in terms of reducing insecurity and in terms of having access to their farm land.

In fact, one of you here (who is an indigene and resides in Karu) can attest to the fact that in Karu, as we speak, the access road has been completed. In fact, it is one of the projects we are set to commission. Virtually all the roads in Karu they requested have been done.

What I found out in governance is: if you sit in your office and allow contractors to come and tell you which roads are due for construction, you don’t even know whether that’s where he lives. But in our case, it was the people that called for help, telling us that if you can help us to do these roads we will be very comfortable. The Renewed Hope administration is winning back the confidence of the people in government.  You see, when government makes promises that are not fulfilled, people lose confidence.

This is not the first time they have made promises to us. Two years ago they made promises to us; five years and up till now nothing has been done. So why do you think you are different?

We said no! We are different in the sense that whatever promise we make by the grace of God, we will implement it. That is how people have come to feel the impact of governance at least in the rural areas.