The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr. Nyesom Wike, has criticised the presidential candidate, Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and former Anambra State governor Peter Obi over his leadership record, mocking his habit of carrying his own bags and questioning his suitability for higher office.
Speaking on Saturday in Bonny, at a Town Hall interactive meeting with stakeholders in Bonny Local Government, Rivers State, Wike described Obi as a social media presidential contender, arguing that popularity online was not a substitute for the experience and capacity required to govern Nigeria.
“Truly speaking, I gave him president of social media. If you were to vote who will be president of social media, I will vote for him. But if it is to govern Nigeria, it capital no!” Wike said.
He also mocked Obi’s posture as being frugal, saying, “As a former Governor, You can not be stingy not to have employ a Personal Assistant who will carry your bag. You want to show you carry your bag. We don’t want such a stingy person as a president.”
Wike questioned Obi’s record as Anambra governor and said the performance of the incumbent governor, Chukwuma Soludo, should inform public assessment of the former governor’s administration.
He also criticised politicians who change political parties amid internal crises, arguing that leadership required the ability to confront challenges rather than abandon difficult situations.
“How will you solve the problem of the country? Did you see when there was a problem in PDP? Did I run? I defeated them,” he said.
The minister also questioned the record of the previous Rivers State administration, citing projects he said had failed to deliver on promises made to residents.
He alleged that $39 million was spent on a proposed 1,000-bed Justice Karibi-Whyte Specialist Hospital without the project progressing to the foundation stage.
“Thirty-nine million US dollars, 53 billion naira, gone! As I speak to you, there’s no foundation, no one block laid,” Wike said.
He also criticised the state’s monorail project, claiming that about N60 billion was spent on it, while questioning its functionality and the value it had delivered to residents.
On the sale of a gas turbine, Wike alleged that the transaction was worth $308 million and that only $308,000 remained in the relevant state account when he assumed office in May 2015.
Wike further recalled a proposal to spend $10 million on fumigating Rivers State to address mosquito bites, questioning the logic of such an exercise in a state sharing boundaries with several others.
He argued that voters should scrutinise the records of politicians seeking higher office rather than rely on campaign declarations.
The minister also criticised the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential ticket, expressing doubts about its leadership and the reliability of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, whom he said he had known from their time in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Wike declared support for President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying he believed the party offered the political platform he would back in the 2027 presidential election.
He explained that the Rainbow Coalition had brought together politicians from different parties in Rivers State to reduce political divisions and violence, even as members prepared to contest elections under different platforms.
“Under a Rainbow Coalition, that’s why in our state today, you see APC, PDP, all of us. No more Rivers of blood, no more shooting, not many people going to die,” he said.
Wike announced that the coalition would unveil its candidates on Tuesday, October 27, while naming Kingsley Chinda as its choice for the Rivers State governorship race.