2027: Adeleke belongs to us; my job is to give opposition hypertension – Wike

Federal Capital Territory FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, has declared that his mission ahead of the 2027 general election is to make opposition figures, including opposition presidential candidates, Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, uncomfortable by increasing their blood pressure.

Wike, who spoke with journalists on Friday in Abuja during an inspection of ongoing projects in the territory, insisted that the current political landscape lacks a clearly defined leading opposition party and dismissed suggestions that Osun State Governor-elect Ademola Adeleke’s re-election victory represented a boost for the opposition.

Reacting to the governor-elect’s recent visit to President Tinubu and himself, Wike said political realignments in the coming weeks would produce a “larger Rainbow Coalition” in support of the president.

He said: “When you say opposition, I have told you, I don’t know what you call opposition. I say there is no opposition now. Adeleke is only a member of the PDP, but because of the internal wrangling, and for him to secure a ticket to run for a second term, he had to find a platform. And that platform happens to be a good party, but he is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP.

“I am not — I am sorry — all those African Democratic Congress ADC people who are talking about, ‘Oh, they helped Adeleke to win,’ you have seen that they just wanted to harvest what they never planted.

“And what happened last night was a meeting to review the Rainbow Coalition, and he is supporting Mr President. It is a different party. I am supporting Mr President. I am in a different party. So, it is a Rainbow Coalition. I told you that the 2027 election would be the easiest election.

“So, Adeleke is fully supporting Mr President, and so we had to meet last night and encourage ourselves to continue. In the next few weeks, watch what is going to happen. You will see the Rainbow Coalition in this country supporting Mr President.

“So, that was what happened last night. You will see more, and that is why I said this election will be concluded before it starts. So, there is nothing anybody can do. Sorry, Adeleke belongs to us, and we all belong to Mr President.”

He argued that emerging political alignments had significantly weakened the opposition landscape, and maintained that Adeleke’s continued backing of Tinubu, despite contesting on the platform of the Accord, had further strengthened the President’s position.

Asked whether it bothered him how opposition leaders felt about his recent engagements with Adeleke, particularly Atiku and Obi, Wike said his priority was to secure victory for his political camp, not to make his opponents comfortable.

He said: “I have told you, when you say we are leading opposition, I have told you there is no opposition. What do you have? People who are just trying to see whether they can be relevant. Who is the opposition leader now? Obviously, 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.

“So, I don’t care; whatever they feel is not my business. I don’t want them to feel well. It is not my wish that they should 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.

“I am not here to make them do well. No, no, no. 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. So, we have to be patient. It doesn’t give me a headache. Everybody knows now how they feel. I will add more crises for them. So, that’s my position.”

Earlier in the outing, the minister said the project inspection was part of efforts to ensure that key infrastructure earmarked for completion this year was delivered on schedule.

Wike subsequently inspected the IBB International Golf Club, which is undergoing rehabilitation following intervention by President Tinubu, noting that the facility had become particularly important to members of the diplomatic community who had complained about its prolonged closure.

He said: “Ordinarily, I wouldn’t interfere. We are the elite team. I like to interfere where the poor people will benefit. But again, you see the importance of this. We have diplomats. This is where they come and play golf, and Mr President directed that this golf course must be ready and reopened by December”.

He explained that Julius Berger was re-engaged for the renovation because the company originally constructed the facility and had the requisite knowledge of its design and standards, adding that physical completion was expected by November, allowing the club to reopen officially in December as directed by the President.

The minister said the golf club had been shut following an internal leadership crisis, which led to the appointment of a caretaker committee headed by the President of the Court of Appeal, commending the committee for its efforts to resolve the crisis and facilitate the facility’s rehabilitation.

Wike, however, said the government would not continue to bankroll the club after its reopening, stressing that management must generate sufficient revenue to sustain its operations and maintenance without relying on public funds. (Vanguard)