…says he will work against Tinubu in the 2027 Presidential election
A Northern group under the auspices of Arewa New Agenda (ANA) blasted the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesome Wike as an intruder who has having vested interest in the political space in 2027.
The group in a press conference in Abuja cautioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to be wary about his political maneuvers that are pitching a tent of political allies to work against him.
Prof Usman A. K, ANA’s Deputy Chairman addressed journalists on behalf of the group and reiterated that Wike is depicting the government of Tinubu in bad light and creating confusion where none exists.
According to him, Minister Wike is an unrepentant member of the PDP who placed a curse on himself should he leave the PDP.
” Being in the main opposition party, he might as a presidential candidate of his party, be pitched against Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. Undermining the Tinubu administration the way he is currently doing therefore would, in such a scenario, serve him well.”
Usman described the administration of the FCT Minister as Nepotism as a “Knight in Shining Armor”: Minister Wike’s Naked Dance in the Village Square.
He said ANA is known for a routine public engagement in support of the Tinubu Administration- going back several months before, during, and after the 2023 Presidential election.
However, he said today’s press conference was caused by a worrisome dimension that crept into the body politic of the Tinubu administration and is eating deep like a cankerworm into the fabric of the nation destroying trust between the people and the APC-led Federal Government.
The statement of the press conference reads as follows:
“The name Nyesom Wike has become synonymous with controversy and un-guarded pronouncements not minding whose ox is gored and what the larger consequences may be. This summarizes the character of the person who sits as the Minister of the FCT in the current administration. As an outsider in government, ordinarily, this man should have been the humblest in this government with a pleasant disposition and kind words. This unfortunately is not the case. The case is that Wike is projecting himself as the lord of the manor and a knight in shining armor driven by nepotism, conceitedness, and narcissistic posturing.
“The Arewa New Agenda is not new to you gentlemen of the press. You will recall that long before the electioneering process for the 2023 general election took firm roots, ANA, in the spirit of fairness, has been at the forefront of projecting northern values of fairness, trust, and friendship and rallying support of northern Nigeria for Tinubu. Data from the last six election cycles indicates that the north controls 73% of votes making anyone President in Nigeria. Arewa New Agenda helped in getting the majority of these votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the last Presidential election in the country.
“It is on record that ANA did the following among other things:
Served as the umbrella Network for more than 126 groups, and associations forming a common front for the Presidential campaign in 19 States of the North in favor of the APC and President Tinubu;
“Facilitated the training and retreat for the Tinubu/Shettima grassroots movement that later transformed into the Independent Campaign Council (ICC) that anchored the presidential campaign at the grassroots;
“Developed strategic campaign messages that all the ICC State chapters used for mobilization and delivery of votes for the President in 2023;
Served as the vanguard providing responses and countering negative insinuations from opposition quarters such as Pa Ayo Opadokun who said northerners were deceiving President Tinubu and would not vote for him. We responded to the former President Chief Obasanjo’s open letter that attempted to misdirect Nigerians during the collation of the 2023 Presidential results, and when some unscrupulous Nigerians flew the kite of an interim Government ahead of the swearing-in the president-elect-ANA did counter these views on record and the rest is now history;
ANA is on record to have convened a series of dialogue sessions to support key policies of the Tinubu Administration such as poverty reduction, peace and peaceful coexistence, removal of oil subsidies, and benefits of the renewed hope agenda.
“ANA has been engaged in the support and promotion of good policies and actions of the Tinubu Administration under the leadership of our convener, Sen. Ahmad Abubakar MoAllahyidi who incidentally is the MD of Integrated Facility Management Services Ltd (IFMSL) – the contracting firm managing the International Conference Center in Abuja (The ICC).
“The minister of the FCT, in his usual element, recently took to the media saying he has revoked the management contract of the ICC and threatened to shut it down. This action of the minister is irregular, devoid of due process, and without regard for a fair hearing.
Minister Wike in purporting to terminate the management contract between IFMSL and Abuja Investments Company Limited (AICL) exhibits ignorance of what the ICC as a global standard Event Centre stands for. The ICC is the No. 1 event center in Nigeria. It is the go-to venue for international organizations having events in Nigeria. At the time of Wike’s purported revocation of the Integrated Facility Managers management contract of the ICC, several international organizations had booked the ICC for their events. These bookings are for the whole year ending December 2024. The threat of the Minister to close down the ICC has impacted negatively on these bookings which are third-party contracts with clients locally and internationally. The threat also hampers international business; drives away foreign investment and kills growth and business prospects at a time when the country needs these the most.
“Putting it straight: The action of Minister Wike amounts to economic sabotage and should be so seen by his employer.
It is worth noting that the facility managers of the ICC – Integrated Facility Management Services Ltd, have remolded the ICC to meet global standards. By IFMSL remolding of the ICC, the Centre is now a flexible venue that can be customized to the client’s specifications. The facility depicts the opulence and refined aesthetics of the modern world.
“In the circumstance, it is very distressing hearing Wike saying he is going to renovate the ICC when no assessment has been carried out and no performance audit has been done in the ICC. As it stands today, the ICC is in its best form delivering first-class and five-star services to its clients. To embark on a so-called renovation at this time is to engage in a wasteful exercise. If it is not broken, why mend it?
“We hasten to state that the ICC is managed by Integrated facility managers under a subsisting management contract with Abuja Investment Company Ltd, which has provisions on how the contract could be terminated. Without recourse to the management contract provisions on termination, the FCT Minister took to the air announcing he had terminated the contract. This action of the minister is irregular, against fair hearing and the rule of law, and unhelpful to the Tinubu administration. Simple: The FCT Minister cannot do what he is threatening to do because it is against the law, and fair dealings and has no place in governance and service delivery.
The FCT Minister’s despotic and nepotic profiling of the north, going after the businesses and social interests of individuals and groups that are Bonafede APC members is unhelpful to the Tinubu administration and paints the picture of one undermining his master in a veiled effort to feather his political nest against 2027.
“By his actions, Minister Wike is pitching the Tinubu administration against Nigerian citizens by depicting the government in a bad light and creating confusion where none exists. Minister Wike is an unrepentant member of the PDP who placed a curse on himself should he leave the PDP. Being in the main opposition party, he might as a presidential candidate of his party, be pitched against Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. Undermining the Tinubu administration the way he is currently doing therefore would, in such a scenario, serve him well.
“In the circumstance, we urge the President to call the FCT Minister – Mr. Wike to order by:
Stopping the media charade of the FCT Minister of revoking the management contract of the ICC subsisting with Messrs. Integrated Facility Management Services Ltd;
Insisting the Minister has recourse to laid down procedures if he wants to interfere with any contractual arrangement between an institution of the FCT with other parties;
Reversing the injustice, the Minister is inflicting on hard-working Nigerians and apologizing for such wrongs publicly.
As an aside we state here that Minister Wike appointing undertakers on the pages of newspapers as if Nigeria has no procurement process smacks of corruption.”
