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• Questions fate of firms privatised under ex-VP’s watch
• Defends Tinubu’s subsidy removal, cites increased allocations to states, LGs
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has warned that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar would sell Nigeria if elected President, alleging that he sold the country’s national assets while supervising the privatisation programme under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Wike, who described Atiku as a political gambler, challenged Nigerians to demand accountability over the fate of government-owned companies privatised during his eight-year tenure as Vice President before considering giving him the nation’s highest political office.
The FCT Minister spoke on Friday during a Rainbow Coalition town hall meeting with stakeholders in Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, where he also canvassed support for President Bola Tinubu’s administration and defended its economic reforms.
Taking a swipe at Atiku’s repeated presidential bids, Wike recalled that the former Vice President was in charge of privatisation under the Obasanjo administration, questioning what became of the national assets sold during that period.
“Atiku Abubakar was vice president for eight years. He was in charge of privatisation. He sold assets belonging to Nigeria.
“Now ask him, what happened to all the government companies that he sold? Ask him,” Wike challenged.
He alleged that Atiku’s ambition to become President could expose the country to further asset sales, arguing that the former Vice President would be preoccupied with recovering the resources he had invested in his repeated attempts to occupy the nation’s highest office.
“He will sell Nigeria to recover all what he has spent since he has been contesting for President. He is not a man that you can take his word to the bank. What he says in the morning is not what he’ll say in the afternoon.
“Therefore, you cannot put your destiny in the hand of a political gambler,” he warned.
Wike also questioned Atiku’s political consistency, accusing him of frequently changing positions and making the presidency his recurring political pursuit.
Shifting attention to the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, the minister defended the removal of the fuel subsidy, arguing that despite the immediate economic difficulties it had imposed on Nigerians, the policy had substantially increased revenue available to the federal, state and local governments.
He said the increased allocations had strengthened the capacity of subnational governments to meet their financial obligations, particularly the payment of workers’ salaries and settlement of outstanding pension liabilities.
According to him, the additional resources accruing to states and local governments have helped address some of the financial challenges that previously characterised their operations.
Acknowledging that Nigerians were still grappling with economic hardship, Wike urged citizens to exercise patience, insisting that the reforms would yield long-term benefits.
He also cited the absence of prolonged Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strikes over the past three years as evidence of improved stability under the current administration.
The minister maintained that the Tinubu administration deserved time to consolidate its policies, urging Nigerians to assess its performance against the resources now available to the different tiers of government.
