Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike has declared that Osun State Governor-elect Ademola Adeleke is supporting President Bola Tinubu, insisting that emerging political realignments will strengthen the President ahead of the 2027 general election.
Wike spoke on Friday in Abuja while speaking with journalists during an inspection of ongoing projects in the territory. He also said his political mission was to make opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, uncomfortable ahead of the election.
Reacting to Adeleke’s recent meetings with President Tinubu and himself, Wike said Adeleke’s decision to contest the Osun election on the Accord Party platform was only a result of internal disagreements within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Adeleke is only a member of the PDP, but because of the internal wrangling, and for him to secure a ticket to run for a second term, he had to find a platform.”
Wike dismissed claims by members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that the party contributed to Adeleke’s victory, saying they were attempting to take credit for something they did not create.
He said Adeleke’s recent meeting with Tinubu was part of discussions around the emerging “Rainbow Coalition” backing the President.
“Adeleke is fully supporting Mr President, and so we had to meet last night and encourage ourselves to continue.”
Wike said more political developments would emerge in the coming weeks and predicted that the coalition supporting Tinubu would grow stronger.
“Sorry, Adeleke belongs to us, and we all belong to Mr President.”
Wike Dismisses Opposition Ahead of 2027
The FCT minister also rejected suggestions that Adeleke’s re-election represented a major boost for the opposition, arguing that Nigeria currently lacks a strong and united opposition party.
He said the PDP would ordinarily have been considered the leading opposition party but its internal crisis had weakened its position.
“Who is the opposition leader now? Obviously, 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.”
Asked whether he was concerned about how Atiku and Obi viewed his recent engagement with Adeleke, Wike said he was not interested in making his political opponents comfortable.
“I don’t want them to feel well. It is not my wish that they should feel well.”
He said his objective was to defeat his political opponents thoroughly rather than make them comfortable.
“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 maintained that the 2027 election would be easy for the ruling camp, saying the emerging political alignments would further weaken the opposition.
“I will add more crises for them.”
Wike Inspects Abuja Projects
Earlier, Wike said his inspection tour was aimed at ensuring that major infrastructure projects scheduled for completion this year were delivered on time.
He also inspected the IBB International Golf Club, which is undergoing rehabilitation following President Tinubu’s intervention.
Wike said the facility was particularly important to members of the diplomatic community, who had complained about its prolonged closure.
“Mr President directed that this golf course must be ready and reopened by December.”
He explained that Julius Berger was re-engaged for the rehabilitation because the company originally constructed the facility and therefore had the necessary knowledge of its design and standards.
According to Wike, physical completion is expected by November, with the official reopening scheduled for December.
The minister said the golf club had been shut following an internal leadership crisis, which resulted in the appointment of a caretaker committee headed by the President of the Court of Appeal.
He commended the committee for helping resolve the crisis and facilitating the rehabilitation of the facility.
Wike, however, said the government would not continue funding the golf club after its reopening, stressing that its management must generate enough revenue to cover its operations and maintenance without relying on public funds.
