The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has urged the coalition opposing President Bola Tinubu’s administration to cease exploiting Nigerians, claiming that only the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party can face Tinubu in 2027.
The minister announced this during his monthly media briefing in Abuja on Thursday.
Wike criticised the notion that Nigerians were furious, adding that the coalition members were previously in power and did nothing to address or ease Nigerians’ plight.
“I heard David Mark say, ‘To rescue Nigeria; Nigerians are angry. David Mark was Senate President for how many terms? Two terms, is it not? Nigerians were happy.
“Nigerians were happy when he was Senate President for eight years. And there was no single project to Otukpo; not one. He was flying with a helicopter to go to Otukpo. Nigerians were not angry then; Nigerians are only angry now.
“When Rotimi Amaechi was minister for eight years, Nigerians were not angry. When Nigeria became indebted to Chinese loans, Nigerians were happy. It’s now Nigerians are angry. I saw Seriake (Dickson). They are saying Nigerians are angry. They want to rescue Nigeria. So I’m asking this simple question. What happened to Air Nigeria? Nigerians were happy then.
“When they went to APC in 2015 and took over the reins of power in 2023, Nigerians were happy. Was it under Tinubu’s government that banditry came? Tambuwal, you were Speaker for four years. What did you do to make Nigerians not be angry? You were a governor in Sokoto State,” Wike said.
Wike went on to say that he would accept the position that Nigerians were furious if it came from those who had never had power before and that Tinubu was striving to rectify the country’s predicament.
“When you want to go to power, tell us. If there are people who have not been in power in this country who are coming up with such an idea, I can listen to them. But not people who were the ones at the helms of affairs of this country for how many years? Look at where this country is. If this president did not take certain decisions he has taken, which may be very challenging, you would have known where we would have been by now.
“A president came and said it’s a scam; took that bold step; we will not allow that. States are getting more money. Nigerians are angry that states are getting more money. Nigerians are angry that we are providing infrastructure in Abuja. I cannot say that there are no challenges. There are challenges. But for Christ’s sake, stop using Nigerians,” he stated.
The former Rivers State governor also noted that only the PDP could challenge President Tinubu in 2027 if they got their acts together, stating, however, that the opposition has succeeded in decimating themselves.
“The opposition have even decimated themselves. Let me tell you why I said so; now you are talking about a coalition. What is the coalition? The only party today that, if they put themselves well, can still challenge this government, assuming, is the PDP,” Wike said.
Wike, however, stated that Nigerians recycled the same persons in positions of power because they chose to vote along ethnic and religious lines rather than based on the individual’s antecedents.
“It’s your business, you the voters. Let me tell you something. I’m the FCT Minister today, is it not true? Right? If I’m supporting a party to win the election, I should be able to stand and say, This is why you should support me.
“Tell me whether this is correct or not. You are the one to say yes. I’ve seen what you said. I’m going to vote for that. But you, the voter, you don’t do that. You vote on ethnicity. You vote on religion,” Wike said.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")