Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), says he will continue to mount political pressure on Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Gatekeepers News reports that Wike, speaking in Abuja on Friday, said there is currently no formidable opposition party in Nigeria, attributing the situation to the internal crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The minister, who is a PDP member but is backing President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, said the party would ordinarily have been the country’s leading opposition platform but had been weakened by its internal divisions.
“I have told you we have no opposition. What you have is people who are just trying to see whether they can be relevant. Who is the opposition leader? Ordinarily, 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,” Wike said.
He said he was not concerned about how opposition politicians were reacting to his political activities, adding that his priority was to defeat them at the polls.
“So, whatever they [opposition] feel is not my business. I don’t want them to feel well. It is not my wish for them to 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.”
Wike added that his objective in a political contest was to ensure his opponents were thoroughly defeated.
“I am not here to make them feel well. 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.”
The minister said he was unconcerned about the reactions of Atiku and Obi to his political activities.
“And that is what we are doing to them. So, how Atiku feels, how Obi feels, does not give me a headache. In fact, if I knew how they feel now, I would add more crises for them.”
Wike has repeatedly criticised Atiku and Obi as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 election.
On Thursday, he criticised Atiku over his promise to restore petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027, describing the former vice-president as “confused” and accusing him of saying whatever was necessary to win the presidency.
In October 2025, Wike also dismissed Obi’s presidential ambition, describing the former Anambra governor as a “social media presidential candidate.”
