The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu will secure victory in the 2027 presidential election, dismissing the opposition as too fragmented to mount a strong challenge.
Wike spoke on Tuesday while addressing journalists after an inspection of areas affected by flooding in the FCT.
The minister criticised opposition politicians and media commentators who, according to him, were using issues such as flooding to attack the Tinubu administration and regain political relevance after losing elections.
He said political commentary on television would not erase what he described as the achievements of the Tinubu administration in the FCT over the past three years.
“I don’t want to reply to political commentaries. I don’t want to reply to people who think that appearing before media houses will give them an edge to win an election that they have lost,” Wike said.
He acknowledged that the administration had not solved every challenge facing the FCT but maintained that significant progress had been made.
“Nobody can diminish what this administration has done in the past three years. Nobody can diminish it. This administration has done very well as far as the Federal Capital Territory is concerned,” he said.
Wike also questioned the ability of the opposition to defeat Tinubu in 2027, arguing that a credible opposition must have a stable political structure and spend years building its support base.
“For you to be opposition to remove a government, it must be what you call a strong, vibrant opposition that has stayed for over four years planning, not opposition that is looking for a party to run to,” he said.
On the 2027 presidential contest, Wike declared: “If it is this 2027 election against Bola Ahmed Tinubu, no, forget it. It’s over.”
The minister also rejected allegations that the Federal Government manipulated the recent Osun State governorship election, insisting that Tinubu allowed the electoral process to take its course.
Addressing claims about the use of federal power during elections, Wike drew from his experience in previous electoral contests and said such allegations should not be accepted without evidence.
He further defended his administration’s decision to demolish structures built on designated water channels in Abuja, saying enforcement would continue regardless of political considerations.
Wike had earlier ordered the FCT Development Control Department to remove structures obstructing waterways, giving officials until Saturday to act.
He warned that political arguments would not stop the demolition of houses built on water channels, regardless of the status of their owners.
“Whether there is an election, oh, there’s no election, oh, all those houses will go down. Heaven will not fall; rather, heaven will be at peace that the right thing has been done,” he said.
The minister also criticised the conversion of designated green areas in Abuja into commercial parks and other developments.
He said the FCT Administration was working to prevent the unauthorised conversion of green spaces and recreational areas, stressing that past irregularities in land allocation would not be allowed to justify continued violations.
Wike maintained that claims that some developments had existed since the creation of Abuja would not prevent the government from correcting planning violations.
“Because something that was done wrongly will not be corrected? No, we will not allow that. We won’t,” he said.
