Follow Us on Google
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has accused the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, of disrespecting Nigeria and acting unlawfully over his alleged refusal to stand during the national anthem.
Wike said Obi’s decision to remain seated while the national anthem was being sung, but stand when a different anthem was played, showed that he did not respect the country’s national symbols and could promote division if elected president.
The minister spoke on Friday at a stakeholders’ town hall in Ogu-Bolo Local Government Area of Rivers State, organised under the Rainbow Coalition to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 and candidates of the All Progressives Congress.
“A whole national anthem of a country is being sung. A man who wants to be President of Nigeria would disobey and sit down. And then not only that, when a different national anthem that is not being used for Nigeria [was sung], he stood up. In a way, he does not belong to this country; that if you give him the president, he would do a different thing that will divide Nigeria,” Wike said.
He added: “A man who does not believe in Nigeria, someone who derives joy in ridiculing the country by disrespecting its symbolic National Anthem must not be allowed to come near the presidency of our country.”
Wike also questioned Obi’s political record, accusing the former Anambra State governor of abandoning political parties whenever internal crises emerged rather than remaining to resolve them. He further faulted him for not conducting local government elections during his eight-year tenure as governor, describing it as inconsistent with his professed commitment to the rule of law.
The FCT minister also criticised opposition figures, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi. He questioned their records in public office, citing the condition of the nation’s seaports during Amaechi’s tenure as Minister of Transportation.
Wike also alleged that the administration demolished Government Secondary School, Ogu, without rebuilding it and failed to fulfil a promise to construct a 1,000-bed specialist hospital.
He urged residents to disregard what he described as the opposition’s “big grammar” on television, insisting that Tinubu’s administration had delivered tangible projects and political appointments to the area.
The minister cited the Ogu-Bolo Civic Centre and the conduct of local government elections as examples of the administration’s interventions. He urged the people to support Tinubu, Kingsley Chinda for Rivers State governor and APC candidates contesting National Assembly seats.
Chairman of Ogu-Bolo Local Government Council, Vincent Nemieboka, said the gathering brought together traditional rulers, Community Development Committee executives, youth leaders, women’s groups and elders. He attributed the council’s support for Wike to projects and appointments secured for the area.
The Amanyanabo of Bolo, King Acheseinimie Frank, also listed projects executed through the Niger Delta Development Commission, including sand-filling works, internal roads and the construction and maintenance of the Kira-Ogu-Bolo Road.
Speaking on behalf of the stakeholders, Prof. Lucky Worika said Alabo Boma Iyaye’s appointment as Executive Director of Finance and Administration at the NDDC had helped attract 19 major ongoing interventions to the local government area.
The projects include the reconstruction of Ogu General Hospital with a 70kVA solar power station, the Ele/Opu-ama Link Road, the Kira-Bolo Road, internal roads and streetlights in Ogu and Bolo, as well as housing estates, teachers’ quarters, scholarships and youth skills acquisition programmes.
Worika also appealed to Wike to use his influence to address persistent challenges in the riverine communities, including access to healthcare, potable water, electricity, maritime transportation and environmental sustainability.
