Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike has warned that opposition politicians will target him first if President Bola Tinubu fails to win re-election in 2027.
Speaking during a media briefing in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, Mr. Wike defended his active backing of the president’s second-term bid, despite remaining a member of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The minister said his high-profile opposition to rival political leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former presidential candidate Peter Obi, left him personally vulnerable to political retaliation should power change hands.
“If you watch what is happening today and look at it, peradventure anything happens and Mr. President fails today, I will be the first politician that Atiku or Obi will hunt for his head,” Mr. Wike said. “So, I won’t make that mistake of sleeping to see that the President loses the election.”
Balancing Abuja duties with local politics
Mr. Wike dismissed suggestions that he was abandoning his ministerial duties in Abuja by spending extensive time in his home state of Rivers, insisting that maintaining local political structures was essential ahead of the upcoming general elections.
He vowed not to take political promises at face value or leave the region’s voting dynamics to chance.
“It’s not about relocating; it’s about coming home to relate with the people and talk to them, and also doing those things you know how to do very well, not taking chances,” he added.
FCT infrastructure progress
Beyond political strategy, the minister highlighted the FCT Administration’s infrastructure record under the current government, pledging that all capital works initiated under President Tinubu would be completed before the end of the administration’s tenure.
According to Mr Wike, the FCT Administration initiated 107 capital projects, of which 76 have been completed. A further 10 projects are scheduled to be commissioned before the elections.
He added that the administration had completed 23 of 25 infrastructure projects inherited from former President Muhammadu Buhari, as well as 6 of 8 legacy projects dating back to the administrations of Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan.
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