Wike Fires Warning: Atiku, Obi Face Tougher 2027 Battle

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike has vowed to continue mounting pressure on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party-backed politician Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Wike made the statement on Friday in Abuja while speaking with journalists during an inspection of ongoing infrastructure projects across the Federal Capital Territory.
The former Rivers State governor also dismissed claims that Nigeria currently has a dominant opposition party, saying the crisis within the opposition has weakened its ability to emerge as a strong political force.
According to Wike, politicians who describe themselves as opposition leaders are mainly concerned with remaining politically relevant.
“I have told you, when you say we are leading the opposition, I have told you there is no opposition. What do you have? People who are just looking to see if they can stay relevant,” he said.
Wike questioned who currently qualifies as the opposition leader, noting that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would ordinarily have occupied that position but has been weakened by its internal crisis.
“Who is the opposition leader now? Obviously, it would have been PDP, but because of the crisis we have gone through, you can’t see a strong party that you would call the leading opposition party,” he said.
The FCT minister also said he was not concerned about how Atiku or Obi would respond to his political actions, stressing that his priority was to make the political contest more difficult for them ahead of the 2027 elections.
“So, I don’t care; whatever they feel is not my business. I don’t want them to feel well. My job is to make them feel unwell all day because they will have high blood pressure. I think that’s my job, to make them have high blood pressure,” Wike said.
He added that his objective in any political contest was to defeat his opponents thoroughly, insisting that he would continue to make the battle harder for them.
“And that is what we are doing to them. So, how Atiku feels, how Obi feels, does not give me a headache. In fact, if I knew how they feel now, I would add more crises for them,” he added.
Wike maintained that the political battle ahead of the 2027 elections would become tougher, stressing that the feelings of his opponents would not determine his approach.