Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for his frequent defections across Nigeria’s major political parties, claiming that his acts are motivated by a frantic desire to become president.
During a media briefing in Abuja on Monday, Wike questioned Atiku’s political constancy and called his transition from one party to another unseemly, especially for someone approaching 80 years of age.
“Atiku was in the PDP in 1999, then he joined the Action Congress (AC). After AC, he returned to the PDP, later moved to the All Progressives Congress (APC), and then back to the PDP again, all in pursuit of the presidential ticket,” Wike said.
He continued with a personal jibe, “If I were his son, I would sit him down and ask, ‘Dad, how can you keep hopping from one party to another at almost 80 years old?’”
The minister said this in response to Atiku’s latest defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as part of a new opposition coalition aiming at opposing President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
Wike criticised the move, calling it little more than political survival.
“The way the PDP is now, it is not likely that Atiku would get a ticket; therefore, it is not comfortable. Therefore, he tells you, ‘Let’s do a coalition against Tinubu.’ It’s not right,” he said.
“It is because he cannot get the presidential ticket under the PDP that he pushed for a coalition.”
