FCT Minister says opposition leaders should not expect him to make them comfortable ahead of 2027
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has declared that his political responsibility ahead of the 2027 general election is to keep opposition leaders under pressure, joking that his activities should give them “high blood pressure.”
Wike made the statement on Friday in Abuja while speaking with journalists during an inspection of ongoing infrastructure projects in the Federal Capital Territory.
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The former Rivers State governor was discussing the state of the opposition as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
According to him, the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party has weakened the party to the extent that Nigeria currently has no clearly identifiable leading opposition platform.
“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 now?” Wike asked.
“Ordinarily, it would have been PDP, but because of the crisis we have had, you can’t see a formidable party that you call the leading opposition party.”
Wike, who remains a PDP member but is supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, said he was not concerned about how opposition politicians viewed his political activities.
“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,” he said.
“I guess that is my job — to make them have high blood pressure.”
The minister said the objective of political competition was to defeat opponents, rather than make them comfortable.
“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,” he said.
Wike specifically dismissed concerns about the reactions of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State governor Peter Obi.
“How Atiku feels, how Obi feels, does not give me any headache. In fact, if I knew how they feel now, I would add more crisis for them,” he said.
The comments came as the 2027 presidential campaign entered a new phase, with official campaigns commencing on August 19.
Atiku is contesting under the African Democratic Congress, while Obi is the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress.
Wike has maintained a running political battle with both men. In October 2025, he mocked Obi as a “social media presidential candidate” after Obi criticised the condition of public schools in Abuja.
He has also recently attacked Atiku over the former vice-president’s proposal to reduce petrol prices, accusing him of making politically convenient promises ahead of the election.
The latest remarks came against the backdrop of fresh political realignments following the Osun governorship election.
Governor Ademola Adeleke won the August 15 election on the Accord Party platform, defeating the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji. INEC declared Adeleke the winner after he secured 511,067 votes against Oyebamiji’s 444,815.
Adeleke subsequently met President Tinubu and Wike in Abuja.
Wike described the engagement as part of plans to build a broader “Rainbow Coalition” of politicians from different parties in support of Tinubu’s re-election.
“Adeleke belongs to us, and we all belong to Mr President,” Wike said.
He also predicted that more politicians would join the emerging political alliance in the coming weeks.
With the 2027 campaign now underway, Wike’s latest comments highlight the increasingly aggressive political battle between the Tinubu camp and opposition figures seeking to build a credible challenge to the incumbent.
