ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

From President Bola Tinubu came a fresh warning on Friday to opposition parties to put their houses in order before the 2027 general election.

“The opposition should put their houses together before the next election so that nobody will accuse anybody of trying to stifle the opposition,” the President said in Abuja, 24 hours after his Democracy Day speech in which he said it was not his responsibility to help opposition parties organise their affairs.

His speech on Friday was at the commissioning of the newly constructed Left-Hand Service Carriageway of Outer Southern Expressway OSEX Stage II from Ring Road 1 Junction to Wasa Junction, also known as Apo-Wasa Road, Abua where he was represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, whose ministry executed the project, said at the ceremony that he had no regret for naming the newly refurbished International Conference Centre Abuja after the President.

Akpabio, speaking for the President said: “The President wants you to come together. If you cannot come together, the President cannot help you to come together.

This is politics. And you will never come together when you continue to tell lies on a daily basis. Everything, you condemn. Nothing is good in your country. Was Nigeria like this in 1960? Was Abuja like this three years ago?

“Last year, you (Wike) gave us numerous projects and this year you repeated the same thing.

“Nobody will remember you for the way you answered your critics. They will remember you for the legacies that you are leaving on ground. And we are seeing the legacy.

“Because it is you. If they were the ones, they would have seen. But I can tell you that even the blind that walk through this Wasa Road will know that the President is working.

“This road stretching from Ring Road 1 junction all the way to Wasa Junction is a significant addition to the road network in the heart of Abuja.

“This very vital infrastructure fully demonstrates our commitment. It demonstrates our commitment to sustainable urban development, enhanced mobility, and improved quality of life for the people of the federal capital, and by extension to all Nigerians and visitors alike.”

Wike, responding to criticism over the naming of the International Conference Centre after Tinubu, said the President had done much for the FCT and was therefore deserving of the honour.

He also denied allegation that the contract for the refurbishing of the complex was inflated.

Built in 1991 at a cost of N240 million, the conference centre was rehabilitated with N39 billion.

Wike, who attributed the increase to inflation, also explained that the 15-kilometre Left-Hand Service Carriageway of Outer Southern Expressway OSEX Stage II was awarded in 2017 at a cost of N6 billion, but that in 2021, the cost was increased to N21 billion after variation.

His words: “Except you have chosen not to see; if God gave you eyes to see and you say, ‘I will not see’, then be blind. It is nobody’s fault.

“You know, there are people naturally, they don’t have good taste. They don’t have good taste. Everything in that International Conference Centre, everything was changed. If you love this country, you cannot criticise.

“I don’t normally watch them. I don’t like to know people’s names who don’t have anything to offer. If you want to die, I have a lot of land. I have land to give you where they will bury you. So if you want to die, you die.

Why would you not commend somebody who has done well? You are not happy that they named ICC after Mr. President. Go and kill yourself.”

Wike said he is entitled and has the capacity to defend his boss.

“If you did not do well to defend your boss when you had the opportunity, it’s not our fault. I am here, I will defend my boss. And I have the capacity to defend my boss.

“I am not here to please unnecessarily critical people. I am here to please the residents of Abuja. In fact, I will continue to give you high blood pressure,” he said.

The minister also took a swipe at opposition figures, calling them ineffective.

“People have made promises to you. Nobody has fulfilled the promise. You are giving attention to those who you don’t know whether their name will be on the ballot or not. Coalition that was born and died the same day,” he said.

Speaking specifically on the achievements of his ministry in the last two years, Wike said: “Seventeen days, it has never happened in the history of this country, where a President will commission projects from day one to day 17.

“I am talking about commissioning; not flag-off.”

Reviewing the internal crises in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2027 elections, the Executive Director of Development Specs Academy, Okey Ikechukwu, said the opposition party has failed to provide formidable opposition owing to its internal crises.

He said the once robust party that used to run impressive campaigns has now “shrunk into a whimpering collection of confounded men and women who are pretending to have a political party.”

He added: “What else does the PDP do today other than talk about its quarrels? Well, occasionally, it makes press releases attacking the APC, thinking that that is political opposition.”

According to him, the real opposition to President Bola Tinubu’s administration comprises activists, civil society groups, concerned commentators, and elder statesmen who speak on national issues.

The whole point of opposition is that you present a profile that will make you attractive to the next person, that will make somebody say to themselves, ‘No, no, no, I need this man to replace this other guy; they don’t know what they are doing.’

“Please, tell me what makes the PDP attractive today. Internally, it is in total disarray,” he said.

The professor said that the party’s current preparations for the 2027 general elections, amid the internal crises, do not show that it will perform better at the polls, except it manages the problems

“So, in the next election, it will participate but it will not contest; it sounds contradictory.

“You are taking part in an event but your preparation is such that we know that you are going to get there and get beaten thoroughly and carried out on a stretcher, except a dramatic reconfiguration occurs within that party, with clear attention to the need to modify the optics of people you see in the party,” he said.

On the role of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in PDP, Ikechukwu said: “Wike, whether you like him or not, you must ask yourself: is this man a fool? The answer is no. Does he know what he is doing? Maybe. Can you disregard him? The answer is no.

“ It is the PDP that should be embarrassed that Wike is still a member, given all that he has done and all that he’s doing.

“It’s the PDP that should be embarrassed that it has not been able to manage such a man because Wike will be a political asset to anybody he works for. For those he is working for now, he is a political asset.

“But to allow him to bestride both lanes and be doing 160 kilometers per hour shows there is nobody controlling the traffic.

“The PDP, with all due respect to the distinguished people in that party, is making itself look more ridiculous, not every day but every hour as the next hour comes. They should stop kidding themselves.”

Addressing concerns over alleged plot by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to turn Nigeria into a one party state, President Tinubu in his Democracy Day speech on Thursday had said there was no such plan.

“To those who ring the alarm that the APC is intent on a one-party state, I offer you a most personal promise. While your alarm may be as a result of your panic, it rings in error,” he said.

Continuing, the President declared: “At no time in the past, nor any instance in the present, and at no future juncture shall I view the notion of a one-party state as good for Nigeria.

“I have never attempted to alter any political party registration with INEC.

“Political parties fearful of members leaving may be better served by examining their internal processes and affairs rather than fearfully conjuring up demons that do not exist.

For me, I would say try your best to put your house in order. I will not help you do so. It is, indeed, a pleasure to witness you in such disarray.”