The FCT minister says he has “no opposition” to worry about, and touts a growing “Rainbow Coalition” behind Tinubu’s 2027 bid.
Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), says he will not let up the political pressure on Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Friday during an inspection of ongoing FCT projects, Wike said Nigeria currently has no formidable opposition party, arguing that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which would ordinarily lead that role, has been weakened by internal crisis.
“I have told you we have no opposition. What you have is people who are just trying to see whether they can be relevant. Who is the opposition leader? Ordinarily, it would have been PDP, but because of the crisis we have had, you can’t see a formidable party that you will call the leading opposition party,” Wike said.
“So, whatever they [opposition] feel is not my business. I don’t want them to feel well. It is not my wish for them to feel well. My business is to make them not feel well all day, because they will be having high blood pressure. I guess that is my job — to make them have high blood pressure.
Why Wike wants opposition figures to feel unwell
Wike said opposition politicians should not expect him to make their political path easier. “So, whatever they feel is not my business. I don’t want them to feel well. It is not my wish for them to feel well.
My business is to make them not feel well all day, because they will be having high blood pressure. I guess that is my job, to make them have high blood pressure,” he said.
He compared the contest to a fight where sympathy has no place.
“I am not here to make them feel well. You see, when you are having a contest with somebody, your business is not to make him feel well. Your business is to make sure that you beat him thoroughly, and he will be sick all through. And that is what we are doing to them,” he said.
“So, how Atiku feels, how Obi feels, does not give me a headache. In fact, if I knew how they feel now, I would add more crises for them.”
Wike’s recent attacks on Atiku and Obi
Wike, a PDP member campaigning for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election, has repeatedly targeted the two presidential candidates in recent weeks.
On Thursday, he described Atiku as a “voodoo economist” over his promise to restore the petrol subsidy if elected in 2027, accusing the former vice-president of shifting his position on subsidy removal for political convenience. In October 2025, Wike dismissed Obi’s presidential bid, calling him a “social media presidential candidate.”
Wike also dismissed suggestions that Osun Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election victory represented a boost for the opposition, pointing instead to Adeleke’s recent visits to Tinubu and to Wike himself in Abuja as evidence of a growing “Rainbow Coalition” of politicians from different parties backing the president’s second-term bid.
“What happened last night is a meeting to rebuild a larger Rainbow Coalition,” he said. “So, Adeleke is fully supporting Mr President, and so we had to meet last night and encourage ourselves to continue.”
He also dismissed claims by some ADC members that the party played a significant role in Adeleke’s victory, accusing them of trying to benefit from a result they did not help create.
Wike said the coalition’s momentum would only grow heading into 2027, adding that more defections and alliances were already being quietly negotiated behind the scenes.”
