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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday threw his weight behind President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, arguing that the President has demonstrated the political will to take difficult decisions needed to revive Nigeria’s economy despite the short-term hardship they have caused.
Speaking during his monthly media chat in Abuja, Wike said Tinubu inherited an economy that had deteriorated over many years and should not be judged as though decades of structural challenges could be resolved within a few years.
The minister dismissed what he described as “rhetoric” in politics, insisting that Nigerians should support leaders who make difficult but necessary decisions rather than those who merely appeal to public sentiment.
“For me, why I don’t like rhetorics is that when something starts getting bad, it gets a solution that is worse. And when it gets worse, it takes time for you to heal and for the problems to be solved,” Wike said.
Recalling Nigeria’s political trajectory, he said successive administrations had faced criticism as economic problems deepened, making it unrealistic to expect Tinubu to reverse years of decline almost immediately.
“When you come to that worst situation, people expect that a problem that has taken over 15 years should be solved within one year. People don’t ask themselves questions,” he said.
Wike defended the removal of fuel subsidy, describing it as one of the most courageous economic reforms undertaken by the Tinubu administration.
Drawing from his experience as a former governor, he said states were financially crippled under the subsidy regime and often struggled to pay workers.
“I was a governor. I was kneeling down before bank managers, even ordinary branch managers. Sometimes they would see me and take the back door and go away. A governor would be looking for them because the fuel subsidy was a cankerworm. Over N3 trillion was going at a go,” he said.
According to him, ending the subsidy has significantly improved revenue available to the federal and state governments.
“Now somebody came and said, ‘Listen, it has to stop now,’ and it stopped. Money has been made available. Sub-national governments now have more money. Nobody now owes pensioners. Nobody goes to the bank again to borrow money to pay salaries. Money has been made available for infrastructure.”
While acknowledging that no government gets every decision right, Wike said leadership is defined by the courage to act.
“No decision can be 100 per cent right. But what makes leadership is the ability for you to take a decision. So many presidents said fuel subsidy was a scam, but nobody had the authority and the political will to stop it. Give him credit. More money has come.”
He added that rebuilding an economy weakened over many years requires patience.
“To put an economy together within a short term when the economy has been bastardised takes time. It’s not like saying, ‘God Almighty, heal him now.’ It takes time, but it will happen.”
The minister also took aim at leading opposition figures, saying he was familiar with both Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
“I know Peter Obi very well. What I don’t like is people playing to the gallery. What I’m not used to, or what I’ve not done, I won’t do simply because I want to be in power.”
Wike criticised what he described as symbolic political gestures designed to win public sympathy.
“I was a governor and I’ve never attended birthday parties in IDP camps. I’ve never gone to celebrate my birthday in motherless babies’ homes but simply because I wanted to be president every birthday, somebody goes to IDP camps and motherless babies’ homes and people say, ‘Oh, this is the type of person we want.’ You are carried away by that kind of sentiment.”
On Atiku, Wike referenced comments by the former vice president’s erstwhile principal, Olusegun Obasanjo arguing that they reflected poorly on his suitability for office.
“I know Atiku Abubakar very well. You heard what his former boss said. The man who is supposed to give him a testimonial said he’s too bad. Your boss said Nigerians should be careful. What other testimonial do you want?”
Despite acknowledging that Tinubu’s administration is yet to solve every challenge, Wike insisted the President remains Nigeria’s best leadership option.
“Tinubu, this President, yes, he has not done everything. No, it’s not possible. Within three years, you can see the difference. Yes, it’s hurting.”
The minister also criticised television stations for inviting commentators whom he said lacked electoral credibility to analyse national politics.
“I have watched Channels, Arise and others. I see somebody talking about politics every day. This is a man who ran as a presidential aspirant from Edo and scored zero. That’s the man you people will call to comment politically.”
Reiterating his support for the President, Wike declared: “Asiwaju is the only person we have now.”
