Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike on Friday denounced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as a "political gambler" who would auction off Nigeria's patrimony to recoup the vast sums he has spent on successive presidential bids, urging Nigerians not to entrust the country's future to a leader with a history of disposing of public assets.
Speaking at a Rainbow Coalition town hall with stakeholders in Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, Wike defended President Bola Tinubu's economic reform agenda, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that the policy has swelled revenue allocations to states and local governments. He acknowledged that citizens are enduring acute economic hardship but maintained that the enhanced fiscal autonomy across all tiers of government has cleared long-standing salary arrears and pension backlogs.
Turning to national politics, Wike assailed Atiku's eight-year tenure as vice president, during which he chaired the National Council on Privatisation. "Atiku Abubakar was Vice President for eight years. He was in charge of privatisation. He sold assets belonging to Nigeria," Wike told the gathering. "Now ask him, what happened to all the government companies that he sold? Ask him."
The minister further questioned Atiku's political consistency, characterising him as a perennial candidate who contests the presidency every four years. Wike cautioned that handing power to Atiku would result in a presidency consumed by efforts to recover past campaign investments rather than serving the electorate. "He will sell Nigeria to recover all what he has spent since he has been contesting for President. He is not a man that you can take his word to the bank. What he says in the morning is not what he'll say in the afternoon," Wike warned.
Wike pointed to the relative stability in the education sector — notably the absence of prolonged Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strikes over the past three years — as evidence of progress under the current administration. He appealed for patience, arguing that the government's economic policies require time to mature and deliver lasting benefits.
Atiku Abubakar served as Nigeria's vice president from 1999 to 2007 under President Olusegun Obasanjo, overseeing a sweeping privatisation programme that transferred ownership of numerous state-owned enterprises — including telecommunications, power generation, and cement firms — to private investors. Critics have long alleged that the process lacked transparency and enriched political allies, claims Atiku has repeatedly denied.
Nyesom Wike, a former two-term governor of Rivers State, was appointed Minister of the Federal Capital Territory in August 2023 by President Bola Tinubu. Since assuming office, he has emerged as a vocal defender of the administration's reform agenda, frequently using public forums to attack opposition figures. The Rainbow Coalition, a political mobilisation platform aligned with Wike, has held a series of town halls across the Niger Delta region ahead of the 2027 electoral cycle.
The petrol subsidy removal, announced by Tinubu during his inaugural address on 29 May 2023, ended a decades-old regime that cost the federation over ₦10 trillion annually. While the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements to sub-national governments have risen sharply — exceeding ₦1 trillion monthly in several months of 2024 — inflation has surged past 30 per cent, eroding household purchasing power and sparking nationwide protests in August 2024.
Rivers State, Wike's political base, remains a flashpoint in national politics. The state has witnessed a protracted power struggle between Wike and his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, which has spilled into the State House of Assembly and the courts. Friday's town hall in Asari-Toru, a riverine local government area, underscores Wike's continued grassroots mobilisation in the region.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarked on frequent industrial actions between 2009 and 2022, cumulatively shutting public universities for over five academic years. The union has not declared a nationwide strike since early 2022, a period the government attributes to improved funding and dialogue, though ASUU leadership maintains that unresolved agreements could trigger future action.