My Grouse With Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi – Wike

By Adesina Soyooye

Nyesom Wike, Minister for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has given reasons why neither Peter Obi, the Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, nor Rotimi Amaechi, Vice Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, should be allowed to enter the Villa as President and Vice President respectively.

Picking first on Obi, Wike said one of the reasons why he is unfit to be Nigeria’s President is because of his famed  stinginess.

According to Wike, Obi is so stingy that he prefers to carry his bag by himself instead of employing a personal assistant to carry the bag for him.

Obi is famous for carrying his luggage himself at airports, a thing not a few people see as a sign of his humility. But Wike disagrees. He said that those who see that as a sign of humility miss the point. According to Wike, it is a sign of Obi’s stinginess. He carries his bag to stop him from spending money, from giving people money.

Wike made his submission on Saturday in Bonny, Local Government Area, Rivers State, during a stakeholders’ town hall meeting.

Wike: “Truly speaking, I gave Obi President of social media. If you were voting for president of social media, I would vote for him. But if it is to govern Nigeria, it is a capital NO!.

“As a former governor, you cannot be too stingy to employ a personal assistant to carry your bag. You want to show you carry your bag; we don’t want such a stingy person as president,”

Another reason Wike wouldn’t vote for Obi, according to him, is that Obi, allegedly, cannot stand the heat in a kitchen.

He accused Obi of always   running away whenever the political party to which he belongs has a crisis instead of staying put to fight and resolve the issues. Obi had, initially, left APGA for PDP. From PDP, he went to the Labour Party and was its Presidential candidate in 2023. Later, he dumped the LP for the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and soon enough, dumped the ADC for the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, under which he is running for the office of the President.

Wike: “How will you solve the problem of the country? Did you see when there was a problem in PDP? Did I run? I defeated them.”

Speaking on Amaechi

Wike accused of embarking on white-elephant projects through which he, allegedly, wasted billions of Naira without results for residents.

Examples: The FCT Minister cited the proposed 1,000-bed Justice Karibi-Whyte Specialist Hospital, and  alleged that Amaechi’s Government squandered $39 million (₦53 billion)  without a single block erected.

Wike: “Thirty-nine million US dollars, 53 billion naira, gone! As I speak to you, there’s no foundation, no one block laid.”

Wike also pointed at Rivers state’s monorail project which, he alleged,  gulped over ₦60 billion without completion. He also alleged that a gas turbine worth $308 million was sold and only $308,000 was left in state coffers when he, Wike, assumed office in May 2015 as Governor.

He, also, mocked Amaechi’s proposal to spend $10 million to fumigate the state against mosquito bites, and wondered how possible  such a project in a coastal state bordered by several neighbouring states could have had any effect.