Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has declared that Osun State Governor-elect Ademola Adeleke belongs to the political camp supporting President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election.
Wike also said his political mission was to make opposition figures uncomfortable, insisting that his priority was to ensure victory for his camp rather than make his political opponents feel at ease.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Friday after inspecting ongoing projects in the FCT, Wike dismissed the suggestion that Adeleke’s victory in the Osun governorship election represented a major boost for the opposition.
According to him, Adeleke remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), despite contesting the election on the platform of the Accord Party, and his recent engagement with Tinubu was part of efforts to strengthen the emerging Rainbow Coalition backing the President.
He said: “When you say opposition, I have told you, I don’t know what you call opposition. I say there is no opposition now. Adeleke is only a member of the PDP, but because of the internal wrangling, and for him to secure a ticket to run for a second term, he had to find a platform. And that platform happens to be a good party, but he is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP.
“I am not — I am sorry — all those African Democratic Congress ADC people who are talking about, ‘Oh, they helped Adeleke to win,’ you have seen that they just wanted to harvest what they never planted.
“And what happened last night was a meeting to review the Rainbow Coalition, and he is supporting Mr President. It is a different party. I am supporting Mr President. I am in a different party. So, it is a Rainbow Coalition. I told you that the 2027 election would be the easiest election.
“So, Adeleke is fully supporting Mr President, and so we had to meet last night and encourage ourselves to continue. In the next few weeks, watch what is going to happen. You will see the Rainbow Coalition in this country supporting Mr President.
“So, that was what happened last night. You will see more, and that is why I said this election will be concluded before it starts. So, there is nothing anybody can do. Sorry, Adeleke belongs to us, and we all belong to Mr President.”
Wike further dismissed concerns about how opposition leaders, particularly former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, might react to his recent political engagements with Adeleke.
He maintained that there was currently no clearly defined leading opposition party capable of challenging the ruling camp.
He said: “I have told you, when you say we are leading opposition, I have told you there is no opposition. What do you have? People who are just trying to see whether they can be relevant. Who is the opposition leader now? Obviously, 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.
“So, I don’t care; whatever they feel is not my business. I don’t want them to feel well. It is not my wish that they should 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.
“I am not here to make them do well. No, no, no. 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, we have to be patient. It doesn’t give me a headache. Everybody knows now how they feel. I will add more crises for them. So, that’s my position.”
Wike also inspected the IBB International Golf Club, which is undergoing rehabilitation following President Tinubu’s intervention.
The minister said the project was important because the facility serves members of the diplomatic community, who had complained about its prolonged closure.
He said: “Ordinarily, I wouldn’t interfere. We are the elite team. I like to interfere where the poor people will benefit. But again, you see the importance of this. We have diplomats. This is where they come and play golf, and Mr President directed that this golf course must be ready and reopened by December”.
Wike explained that Julius Berger was re-engaged for the rehabilitation because the company originally constructed the facility and possessed the necessary knowledge of its design and standards.
He said physical completion was expected by November, with the official reopening scheduled for December in line with the President’s directive.
The minister added that the golf club had been shut following an internal leadership crisis, which resulted in the appointment of a caretaker committee headed by the President of the Court of Appeal.
Wike commended the committee for helping to resolve the crisis and facilitate the rehabilitation of the facility.
He, however, stressed that government would not continue to fund the club after its reopening, insisting that its management must generate enough revenue to sustain operations and maintenance.
