Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has launched a pointed political attack against Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the last election, challenging him to publicly compare his eight-year record as Anambra State governor with Wike’s two-year tenure overseeing the nation’s capital.
Wike’s sharp remarks were a direct response to Obi’s recent criticism of the FCT administration. Following a visit to LEA Primary School in Kapwa, Abuja, Obi had publicly condemned the “appalling condition” of public schools in the FCT, labeling it a “national disgrace” that exposes a shallow commitment to education in Nigeria.
The FCT Minister delivered his counter-attack on Thursday during a road commissioning ceremony, where he dismissed Obi’s critique as mere politicking. Alleging a failure of governance during Obi’s time in office, Wike accused the former governor of neglecting to invest state resources in ways that would benefit citizens, claiming this is why subsequent governments in the South-East state have continually “struggled.”
“There is one social media man who calls himself presidential candidate, he went to one school in FCT and said we did not provide toilets for them. Imagine. He plays politics with everything,” Wike said.
He then escalated the personal challenge: “When he was governor for eight years, did he develop the entire Anambra? His name is Peter Obi. And that is why his successors have been struggling.”
Wike unequivocally dared the Labour Party leader to engage in a public comparison of their respective achievements. “I challenge him to come out publicly and compare what he did for eight years in Anambra with what we have done in the FCT in just two years,” the Minister declared. He further questioned Obi’s capacity to lead Nigeria, citing the difficulty Obi had in managing his own political party. Wike concluded with a biting dismissal, asserting that Obi “will remain a social media president.”
