The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, of displaying panic and insecurity over the momentum of the recently unveiled coalition of opposition political parties.
In a press release issued on Thursday, July 3, 2025, the ADC said Minister Wike’s verbal attacks on leaders of the coalition during a media chat earlier in the day reflect fear and desperation, which the party attributed to the growing strength of the opposition alliance.
“We believe Minister Wike could only descend to that level because of his mortal fear of the threat that the successful unveiling of the coalition of opposition political parties constitutes to the government that he serves,” the statement read.
Signed by Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, the spokesman for the coalition movement, the release criticised Wike’s conduct as unbecoming of a federal minister. It also challenged the government’s performance, stating that the coalition emerged in response to broken promises and worsening conditions in the country.
“If Minister Wike and the government that he serves had kept their promises to the Nigerian people, the coalition movement would not have been necessary and he would not have had a need to be so jittery,” the statement continued.
The party specifically cited the prolonged strike by primary school teachers in the FCT and what it described as Wike’s “contempt” for workers, accusing him of prioritising expensive, non-essential projects while ignoring core governance responsibilities.
“If he had not treated FCT workers with so much contempt, while he goes about commissioning white elephant projects running into billions of Naira, he would have had no need to be afraid of the coalition,” it said.
Responding to Wike’s allegation that coalition leaders were motivated by grievances, the ADC said their grievances are rooted in “poverty and misery” inflicted by the administration. It pointed to poor education access, insecurity in the capital, and the alleged role Wike played in “destroying” the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as key concerns.
“It is rather too late in the day to cry. The coalition movement belongs to the Nigerian people who had been promised renewed hope, but have been served renewed hopelessness,” the statement added.
The ADC concluded by asserting that no amount of criticism from the Minister would halt the growing tide of the coalition, which it described as a response to national discontent.
The statement reads in full:
“Minister Wike is Jittery – ADC
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has taken note of the virulent attacks launched on the various leaders of the coalition movement by the Hon. Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike in his media chat today.
Without justifying this behaviour that we find incompatible with the office of a Federal Minister, we believe Minister Wike could only descend to that level because of his mortal fear of the threat that the successful unveiling of the coalition of opposition political parties constitutes to the government that he serves.
We observe that if minister Wike and the government that he serves had kept their promises to the Nigerian people, the coalition movement would not have been necessary and he would not have had a need to be so jittery.
If minister Wike had paid the salaries of primary school teachers who have been on strike for several months and if he had not treated FCT workers with so much contempt, while he goes about commissioning white elephant projects running into billions of Naira, he would have had no need to be afraid of the coalition.
Minister Wike claimed in his media chat that the coalition leaders are driven only by grievances. If we have any grievances, it is the way the government he is a part of has driven majority of Nigerians into poverty and misery. We are aggrieved to see children of the poor unable to get education because he would not pay their teachers’ salaries. We are aggrieved to watch the growing insecurity in the FCT that he superintends. We are aggrieved that minister Wike had allowed himself to be used by the government he serves to destroy one of the most powerful political parties in Africa, the PDP.
But it is rather too late in the day to cry. The coalition movement belongs to the Nigerian people who had been promised renewed hope, but have been served renewed hopelessness. Therefore, no amount of tirade against the leaders of the coalition could stem the tide of this popular movement.”
