•Tells Amaechi: I’m waiting for you in Rivers, come out with your kids to protest

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike on Friday dubbed the 2027 General Election as “Operation Show Your Scorecard”, challenging former Senate President David Mark and other leaders of the anti-Tinubu coalition now in the African Democratic Congress ADC to show their scorecard to Nigerians.

Noting that for several years Mark was in power, eight of which he spent as Senate President, Wike wondered why it was impossible for the Benue-born ex-soldier to access his hometown, Otukpo, by road instead of his constant and elitist resort to using helicopters.

The Minister stated this in Gwagwalada where Vice President Kashim Shettima represented President Bola Tinubu to commission the newly rehabilitated Aguma Palace – Radio Nigeria – New Market road.
Wike also accused his predecessor as Rivers state Governor, Rotimi Amaechi of inviting Nigerians to revolt, challenging him to go down to Rivers and lead such protest with his children instead of keeping them in London and using the masses.

Wike said; “Mr President, today is the 16th day that you have devoted time to personally participate in the commissioning ceremonies. I never knew that people were so pained that so many things are going on very well in FCT, until last night, when I was watching politics today. I saw one of the presidential aspirants of the coalition party that was an industrialist, so pained by the fact that he is angry Mr President, Mr Vice President, the Senate President, the Speaker, the Secretary to Government of the Federation are coming to commission projects. Yet, they say that the people are angry. Gwagwalada people, are you angry? It is important to ask you this question so that we will hear from the Nigerians.

“I have said, everybody show your scorecard. When I was a Senate President let me show my scorecard. How did I help the people of Benue State? How did I help the people of Otukpo? Is it by flying helicopter to Otukpo? We are here, for 16 days, we are showing our scorecard. This time is what we call, operation show your scorecard”.

Bad faith

Wike also accused the elements behind ADC as doing so in bad faith, saying their claim that they started the coalition arrangement 18 months ago, showed that President Bola Tinubu was just six months in power when they started planning against him. He said the ADC promoters were in power for several years and did not do anything meaningful for Nigerians, wondering why instead of giving Tinubu a chance, they started ganging up against him within six months.

“They said coalition had started 18 months ago. Mr President has been in office two years. So, you started coalition when he was six months in office. Eighteen months ago you started coalition.

When will you stop deceiving Nigerians? Somebody came into office six months then you have started coalition that he may not perform. But you (David Mark) had opportunity to be Senate President for eight years, you (Aminu Waziri Tambuwal) had an opportunity to be Speaker for four years, you (Amaechi) had an opportunity to be Minister of Transportation for eight years. Yet you never made angry Nigerians to be happy but people stayed in office for six months, you started telling people how Nigerians are angry.

“God gave you opportunity to be in office to make Nigerians happy according to you, but you refused. Now you have left office you are angry, you are saying Nigerians are angry. No! You are angry you want to come back to power, you won’t come back. You will not come back to power. I was not a governor when I refused some people to bring their successor. 2015, I defeated a very powerful governor who wanted his boy to be governor.

I defeated him. In 2019, a super minister was borrowing money from Chinese Bank, making us to be highly indebted. In 2019, as Campaign Director General of then Mr President, he still could not get 20 percent for Mr President. I defeated him.

In 2023, they said they will support one man (Atiku) whose business is to move from one party to the other. In 1999 he was in one party, in 2006 he was in another party. In 2014 he moved to another party.

Now in 2025 he is in another coalition. ‘Dem born you born coalition?”, he queried sarcastically.

Noting that the road was constructed by a local contractor, Wike said he did not also impose the project on the people, saying at the outset of his administration, he had citizens’ engagement fora across the six Area Councils where he asked the people to list projects that could be most impactful to them.