Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has responded to critics who once accused him of working for the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying many of those same voices have now joined the party themselves.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Wednesday during the flag-off ceremony for the construction of the Main Carriageways of the Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX) from Ring Road I to Ring Road II in Abuja, Wike didn\u2019t hold back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been watching things unfold on TV and social media,\u201d Wike said. \u201cThose who accused me of trying to destabilize my party, claiming I was secretly working for APC \u2014 today, they\u2019ve all joined the APC. If that\u2019s the case, then they should actually commend me. I laid a good foundation for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The FCT Minister emphasized that politics requires maturity and strategic thinking. \u201cIn politics, you must be careful. It\u2019s not for the rash. I\u2019ve always told people to understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n
His comments come amid a wave of high-profile defections from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC. APC spokesperson Felix Morka recently mocked the trend in a viral tweet:<\/p>\n
\u201cPDP IN DUMPSTER \u2013
\nIn April, it was Governor Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta)
\nIn June, Governor Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom)
\nThen Governor Peter Mbah (Enugu)
\nAnd now, Governor Douye Diri (Bayelsa).
\nPDP\u2019s over two decades of political rascality and failure are coming home to roost.
\nPeople\u2019s Dumpster Party (PDP)? Why not?\u201d<\/p>\n
On Tinubu\u2019s Fuel Subsidy Removal: \u201cA Game-Changer for Governance\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Wike also used the occasion to commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his bold decision to end fuel subsidy payments \u2014 a move he described as transformative for states and the FCT.<\/p>\n Reflecting on his time as Rivers State Governor, Wike said the difference is clear: \u201cI used to run from one commercial bank to another, begging for loans to execute projects. Sometimes, we couldn\u2019t even pay salaries, let alone fund infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut today,\u201d he continued, \u201cthanks to one man\u2019s leadership, that has changed. States now have the funds to not only pay salaries but also undertake meaningful projects. Banks are now chasing after governments, not the other way around.\u201d<\/p>\n He praised President Tinubu\u2019s courage in taking tough but necessary decisions. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter your party affiliation \u2014 when you see good leadership, you should acknowledge it. The President took a bold step many before him refused to take, and we\u2019re seeing the results.\u201d<\/p>\n A Vision for the FCT<\/strong><\/p>\n FCT Minister of State, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, also spoke at the event, describing the road project as a major step toward improving traffic flow, boosting economic activity, and enhancing mobility for residents of Abuja.<\/p>\n She praised both President Tinubu and Minister Wike for their vision and commitment to infrastructure development.<\/p>\n \u201cUnder your leadership, the FCT has become a construction powerhouse and a beacon of national renewal,\u201d Mahmoud said. \u201cYou\u2019ve shown unwavering energy, foresight, and passion to ensure infrastructure here is meaningful and people-centered.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has responded to critics who once accused him of working for the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying many of those same voices have now joined the party themselves. Speaking on Wednesday during the flag-off ceremony for the construction of the Main Carriageways of the Outer Southern […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":94259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8],"tags":[189,7146,47],"class_list":["post-95475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-politics","tag-apc","tag-defections","tag-governors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/94259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}