By Sabiu Abdullahi
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said he is determined to keep opposition politicians under pressure as the country approaches the 2027 general elections.
Wike made the statement on Friday while speaking with journalists during an inspection of infrastructure projects across the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The minister, who addressed the political situation ahead of the elections, said the crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party had weakened the opposition and made it difficult to identify a dominant opposition party.
According to him, the PDP would ordinarily be regarded as the leading opposition party, but its internal problems had affected its ability to play that role effectively.
He said, “I’ve told you there is no position. What do you have people who are not trying to see whether they can be relevant? Who’s the opposition leader now? Ordinarily, it would have been PDP, but because of the crisis we have had, and so you can’t see a formidable party that you call a leading opposition party.
“So, whatever they feel, it’s none of my business. I don’t want them to feel well. It’s not my wish that they should feel well.
“My business is to make them not to feel well all the days. Because they will be having high blood pressure. Yes, that’s my job.
“To make them to have high blood pressure. I am not here to make them to feel good, 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 you beat him thoroughly. So that he will be sick all through. And that’s what we are doing to them.”
Wike, a former Rivers State governor and a member of the PDP, has been involved in a prolonged political dispute with several opposition figures amid the party’s internal crisis.
The FCT Minister also played down concerns about how former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, might respond to the unfolding political developments.
He said their reactions would not affect his approach to the political contest.
He added, “So how Atiku feels, how Obi feels, it does not give any headache. If I know how they feel now, I will add more crisis for them.”
