Abuja—The political spotlight intensified on Thursday as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, issued a direct and fiery challenge to Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last election, demanding a public comparison of their governance records.
The Minister’s sharp remarks came during a road commissioning ceremony, serving as a powerful rebuttal to Obi’s earlier comments regarding the “appalling condition” of public schools in the FCT, which the former governor had labelled a “national disgrace” and evidence of Nigeria’s hollow commitment to education.
The Challenge: Eight Years Versus Two
Minister Wike challenged Obi to publicly detail his achievements during his eight-year tenure as Governor of Anambra State and benchmark them against the development projects completed in the FCT within Wike’s first two years in office.
“I challenge him to come out publicly and compare what he did for eight years in Anambra with what we have done in the FCT in just two years,” Wike stated.
The Minister took specific aim at Obi’s tenure in Anambra, alleging that the former governor failed to utilize the state’s resources for the long-term benefit of the populace. Wike claimed that this alleged lack of investment was the reason why subsequent governments in the South East state have continued to struggle.
Firing Back at School Criticism
Wike’s response was prompted by Obi’s recent visit to the LEA Primary School in Kapwa, Abuja. The FCT Minister dismissed the criticism, which included the alleged lack of basic facilities like toilets, as political grandstanding.
“There is one social media man who calls himself presidential candidate, he went to one school in FCT and said we did not provide toilets for them. Imagine. He plays politics with everything,” Wike stated, referencing the incident.
The Minister escalated his rhetoric by questioning Obi’s political competency: “Someone who cannot manage a political party as a presidential candidate is talking about managing a complex country like Nigeria. He will remain a social media president.”
The public exchange sets the stage for a high-stakes debate over administrative performance, pitting Wike’s high-impact, infrastructure-focused development style in the capital against Obi’s legacy of prudent fiscal management in Anambra.
