Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared that he intends to maintain political pressure on Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Wike made the statement on Friday in Abuja while discussing the state of opposition politics in Nigeria.
The FCT minister argued that there is currently no strong opposition party in the country, noting that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which would ordinarily occupy that position, has been weakened by its internal crisis.
“I have told you we have no opposition. What you have is people who are just trying to see whether they can be relevant. Who is the opposition leader? Ordinarily, it would have been PDP, but because of the crisis we have had, you can’t see a formidable party that you will call the leading opposition party,” Wike said.
He added that he was not concerned about the wellbeing of his political opponents, saying his objective was to make the contest difficult for them.
“So, whatever they [opposition] feel is not my business. I don’t want them to feel well. It is not my wish for them to feel well. My business is to make them not feel well all day, because they will be having high blood pressure. I guess that is my job — to make them have high blood pressure,” Wike said.
The minister explained that political contests were about defeating opponents rather than making them comfortable.
“I am not here to make them feel well. You see, when you are having a contest with somebody, your business is not to make him feel well. Your business is to make sure that you beat him thoroughly, and he will be sick all through.
“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.”
Wike, a member of the PDP who is supporting President Bola Tinubu’s bid for re-election, has repeatedly criticised Atiku and Obi in recent months.
On Thursday, he attacked Atiku over his promise to restore the petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027, describing the former vice-president as “confused” and accusing him of saying whatever he believes could help him win the presidency.
Wike also previously mocked Obi’s presidential ambitions, describing the former Anambra State governor in October 2025 as a “social media presidential candidate”.