₦airaland Forum

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike revels in controversies, contentious public disputations, vituperative recriminations, and tensile political stress like a pig exults in mud. Peace and harmony bore him to tears. That is why he has an incrementally lengthening list of political spats with multiple people.


His quarrel with Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his former protégé, is his biggest and most sustained conflict. He is waging an open, ugly battle with his handpicked successor over political control in Rivers State, including public accusations and counter-accusations tied to governance decisions, patronage, and the state’s political machinery.


He remains entangled in the PDP’s internal civil war, including arguments over whether disciplinary actions against him and his allies stand, plus competing claims of authority and legitimacy inside the party structure.

Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has publicly accused Wike of working to undermine him, with references to intimidation, smear campaigns, and broader PDP turmoil. Wike has responded with derision and counter-attacks.

Wike is also slinging mud with Ohanaeze Ndigbo President-General John Azuta-Mbata. In response to Azuta-Mbata’s caution that “there is only one governor in Rivers State,” Wike characterized the former senator as a worthless, opportunistic local champion who was a “senator for eight years but there is nothing you can say you did for your people.”

“Can somebody tell this semi-illiterate, swashbuckling, crisis-loving gentleman that Rivers State belongs to all of us, not him alone?” Azuta-Mbata shot back.

Wike has ensured that his long-running rivalry with Rotimi Amaechi, his predecessor, remains active in public discourse, including his dismissal of Amaechi’s political prospects and recurring jabs tied to Rivers State legacy politics and national ambition.

And he is embroiled in a fresh, high-profile intra-establishment clash with APC national secretary Ajibola Basiru, who is from Osun State, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s real state of origin.

I expect Tinubu to be next on the list. In fact, in fighting Basiru, Wike has inadvertently roped in Tinubu. “Don’t take our support for President Tinubu for granted,” he said to Basiru. “You have to be careful with your statements.”

In other words, Wike is obliquely, nay explicitly, telling Tinubu that his support for a 2027 reelection is not guaranteed. It is conditional. It is contingent on reciprocity. If the president will not let him have Rivers State, he will stall the president’s reelection campaign within his sphere of influence.

To underline this point, he said, “I can challenge anybody (including the president). This state is a no-go area.” In fact, the Tinubu-friendly P.M. News reported on January 5 that Wike “mocked speculations that he would be given instruction from above to allow Gov. Fubara run for second term.”

When you add his threat that his support for President Tinubu should not be taken for granted to his boast that he can “challenge anybody” and his lampooning of suggestions that he could be commanded by “orders from above” (which is mere code for Tinubu) to yield to Fubara, who appears to be very close to Tinubu now, you can tell that it is only a matter of time before Wike’s confrontation with Tinubu blows up in the open.

Again, Vice President Kashim Shettima’s subtle, diplomatically delivered but nonetheless poignant reminder to Wike that state governors are, by convention, the leaders of the party in their states, which APC national chairman Nentawe Yilwatda pushed back against, signals a deeper intra-establishment trouble.

It is not clear if Shettima’s sly dig conveyed Tinubu’s message. But the vice president knows a thing or two about the wisdom and political utility of maintaining a respectable distance from, and allowing a wide latitude of independence for, people whose rise to power you facilitated.


As I have pointed out in many previous articles, the VP and Governor Babagana Zulum, his handpicked successor, have a relationship that is almost unexampled in Nigeria. Zulum even led an impassioned physical protest in June 2025 when the VP’s name was excluded from the APC North-East stakeholders’ endorsement for the 2027 presidential election. He led delegates who chanted, “Shettima! Shettima!” “No Shettima, no APC in the North-East!”

I am yet to see that level of loyalty to a predecessor from any governor years after election. Perhaps Kogi State Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo can rival that depth of loyalty, given that so far he has not fallen out with his benefactor and predecessor Yahaya Bello. Wike, and several political “godfathers,” have a lot to learn from Shettima and Bello.

But why does Wike get his highs from perpetual political crisis? My own sense is that it is the product of Dutch courage, as alcohol-inspired bravado is called. As any casual observer of his histrionics can tell, he always looks like a bibulous reveler.

There is a recent viral video of his media aide slyly handing him a bottle of an alcoholic beverage while he was speaking. Perhaps the aide noticed that Wike was in danger of getting sober and running out of his Dutch courage.

Someone close to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar once confided in me that Wike’s compulsive alcoholism and predilection for disruptive, alcohol-fueled theatrics was the single most important reason he was passed over as a running mate in 2023.

Wike is a great example of why I am a teetotaler, that is, a total abstainer from alcoholic drinks. My father, as many of my readers know, was an Islamic cleric. He was, of course, a scrupulous teetotaler, inspired by his strong Muslim faith.

However, in bringing us up to also be teetotalers, he relied on the resources of logic. He taught us that being drunk deprives one of control over one’s consciousness, and one’s environment, and that such a state can birth many untoward things. He used to call alcohol the mother of sins. Wike is proof positive of this.

In his drunken state, he is fighting everyone and revealing information that normal, sober people keep under wraps. For example, in vituperating APC national secretary Ajibola Basiru, Wike suggested that he helped teleguide the judiciary to secure the court outcome that led to the withholding of Osun State’s local government funds.

One widely circulated version of his remarks, seen in a video of his speech in Port Harcourt, quoted him as implying that the court action did not happen by accident and that powerful actors worked behind the scenes to shape it.

“Today, you are enjoying in Osun. You don’t know those who did the work,” he said. “Anything you see, take it. Anything you see, what? Take it.” No sober person publicly confesses to subverting the course of justice.

Now, he has begun to say things about Tinubu that most sober, self-aware people who are as favored as he is in this government would recoil from.

In Wike’s bacchanalian braggadocio, he is far too gone to realize just how vulnerable he is. Tinubu can remove him as a minister and take away a huge portion of the symbolic, political, and financial capital he deploys to remain relevant. He can disrupt his legendary hold on the judiciary and use Fubara, his nemesis, against him. Most people will celebrate his downfall.

When a man confuses noise for power and bravado for leverage, he mistakes indulgence for invincibility. Wike will soon discover that in politics, even the loudest drum can be silenced.

https://www.farooqkperogi.com/2026/01/wike-getting-awfully-close-to-fighting.html?m=1

If tinubu doesn't handle the matter well...


Or make the "right" decisions according to wike, then that fight is inevitably going to happen.


Even tinubu knows this. He is a shrewd politician. There is a limit to which you can tame a wild lion looking for whom to devour!

Wike is already fighting weak Tinubu. Tinubu has no balls.

If the majority of Nigerians had their senses in the right places we shouldn’t be discussing Wike and Fubara and whether or not Tinubu should or will intervene. Rather we should be assessing the scorecard of both of these public servants.

Wike is a minister of the FCT his constitutional duty is to provide services to Abuja, but for weeks (unless he is on leave) he has used state funds in carrying out his vendetta on a governor in his jurisdiction. This is madness.
What is the security situation in the FCT?
Waste situation?
Primary health center?
What social welfare initiatives does he plan on implementing in the FCT?
Education? Sports? Tourism?

If at all the matter should be discussed, Wike should remember the deal that made Tinubu president didn’t have anything to do with Fubara and a second term but rather free assess to plundering state funds. He makes perfunctory statements about Mr presidents generosity to rivers state like it wasn’t transactional and he the biggest benefactor.

Amongst anything Wike should be told to get back to work;
Mind the issues surrounding his own political party;
And stop bastardizing our already dilapidated polity… it’s no more about philosophies and development but horse trading with commonwealth and no repercussions.

From next week the dipso will start fighting Tinupoo's allies then a week later he will face Tinupoo squarely...




Trust me, the dipso is the prophecised death of the evil party, APC

Wike will win because he has dirt on Tinubu. Tinubu will eventually fold because like all bullies, they only poke you to see whether you will poke back.

Wike already explained this in the video below

Wike’s 2023 political campaign turns timely advice to every Nigerian 🔥 pic.twitter.com/cMvBAMTIyP

— Zariyi Yusuf Madaki (@ZariyiYusufu) January 8, 2026

We all know Wike and tilumbu's fallout will be LOUD and TELEVISED

See as Wike go rush Tilumbu with blow 👊🥊 when time to scatter area reach 😏

AMINDA:
Wike will win because he has dirt on Tinubu.

He can’t, Tinubu holds all the cards. Betta Edu was sacked, the sky didn’t fall.
Wike can be sacked and rivers wouldn’t burn.

Tinubu has kept to his end of the bargain in terms of his presidency. What was Tinubu’s stake in ensuring Fubara doesn’t get a second term? I’m pretty sure it was continued support which he has gotten by having his party at the center in rivers state.

Also, Wike is a political orphan, Tinubu is his last hope of political relevance. No politician in Nigeria wishes to have him in their camp.

He should remember it’s cold outside.

Baxilexi:
He can’t, Tinubu holds all the cards. Betta Edu was sacked, the sky didn’t fall.
Wike can be sacked and rivers wouldn’t burn.

Tinubu has kept to his end of the bargain in terms of his presidency. What was Tinubu’s stake in ensuring Fubara doesn’t get a second term? I’m pretty sure it was continued support which he has gotten by having his party at the center in rivers state.

Also, Wike is a political orphan, Tinubu is his last hope of political relevance. No politician in Nigeria wishes to have him in their camp.

He should remember it’s cold outside.

Betta Edu? Are you having a laugh? Tinubu should dare sack Wike. We want to check something.

AMINDA:
Betta Edu? Are you having a laugh? Tinubu should dare sack Wike. We want to check something.

Let me guess, whenever he makes the never before heard exposé, Nigerians would rush to aso-rock, and burn it to the ground?

After all, in his loquacious manner it’s on record he said ‘the election results were written in my office’.
I think he should be the one scared.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RndTTGV591M?si=olUMsTsPh-16dpJ2

The odds are against him, no friends in the east, north, west and south, none of the ex-governors are on his side. I can tell he’s really bad at math because he can’t tell that there’s a massive minus sign above his head like a halo.

Wike...

Has been abandoned by RONU-bandits.

Yariimo
Legendhero
Madridguy
Seunmsg
Domperigon


What happened here? Have you all been told to stop supporting Wike from una WhatsApp group?

2026 go hot

christejames:
From next week the dipso will start fighting Tinupoo's allies the a week later he will face Tinupoo squarely...




Trust me, the dipso is the prophecised death of the evil party, APC

God can use anything and anybody to do his bidding

So Kperogi cares about Tinubu? What a propagandist.

The last thing Tinubu should do is mismanage this situation in a way that he falls out with Wike. Fubara is not worth it at all. This is politics. It is not a Tinubu vs Wike issue. The president must also not take Wike's support for granted.

Wike is an asset in his government. Even if Tinubu says Wike should no longer be a minister, Fubara will still not win the governorship election, and such realignment by Wike and his allies might cost Tinubu his re-election. Tinubu should be careful.

The mathematics is simple: Wike + 27 lawmakers vs. Fubara. It shouldn't be a hard decision for anyone who claims to be a smart politician, considering Wike is the one who put Fubara in office. Coupled with the fact that the courts have indicted Fubara for his lawlessness.

Fubara is a despot - The Supreme Court

Force Fubara to resign or let him be impeached. Case closed.

The Wike vs APC movie go long
It is just starting and folks are already leaving their seats in excitement. I pity such people
Me, I don wear my 4HD glasses to watch this movie while strapped to my seat
Can't afford to miss any details

ZombieDredd:
God can use anything and anybody to do his bidding

That will still not amount to anything good for Adc ....... Tinubu no be any politicians mate....

Kperogi, it's not a must to do cho cho cho every weekend

Mtcheww..

Concocted gibberish..

You don't know Tinubu
He never loses allies like Wike

Forouk my man,I enjoy every piece of your writing daily but since my fb was suspended and me.refusimg to open another One,I have missed your writing....


Your choice of words in describing wike are perfect, truly alcoholism deprived ones consciousness of his environment and state of mind which make one says things ordinary which won't will be say if one is not under it's influence....

Tinubu and APC are heading to final show down amongst themselves

There is a recent viral video of his media aide slyly handing him a bottle of an alcoholic beverage while he was speaking. Perhaps the aide noticed that Wike was in danger of getting sober and running out of his Dutch courage

seunowa:
That will still not amount to anything good for Adc ....... Tinubu no be any politicians mate....

Yes
In the game of deception and forgery, he is not their mate

Tinubu should respect himself and not take Wike support for granted, agreement is Agreement simple!

Baxilexi:
Let me guess, whenever he makes the never before heard exposé, Nigerians would rush to aso-rock, and burn it to the ground?

After all, in his loquacious manner it’s on record he said ‘the election results were written in my office’.
I think he should be the one scared.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RndTTGV591M?si=olUMsTsPh-16dpJ2

The odds are against him, no friends in the east, north, west and south, none of the ex-governors are on his side. I can tell he’s really bad at math because he can’t tell that there’s a massive minus sign above his head like a halo.

Wike thinks the only friends he needs is the judiciary. That's why he is building houses for them

OneCandleAway:
Wike thinks the only friends he needs is the judiciary. That's why he is building houses for them

There’s no honor amongst thieves.

The body of benchers cannot save him.

They’re a wolf pack, the minute they smell blood the alpha is gone. He is bleeding, the APC national chairman has made the first attack, APC governors have made the second, I predict a financial agency or lawsuit is headed his way, wrapped in an unrelated issue to burden the minister, demoralize him and whittle down his influence.

Nawa Nlfpmod.

This fight is going to be epic because Nyesom Wike is going to fight dirty. Fingers crossed.

Tinubu boasted that he made Buhari the president, Wike is going around boasting that he made tinubu the president, master strategist no fit deny am😂😂

AMINDA:
Betta Edu? Are you having a laugh? Tinubu should dare sack Wike. We want to check something.

I don’t think there would be much problem sacking him. The real problems will arise after his sacking. Though they may use EFCC and other federal might to want to suppress him but only time can tell.

I hope it gets there..

Because that would be the final nail on Wike's coffin.

Sheuns:
I don’t think there would be much problem sacking him. The real problems will arise after his sacking. Though they may use EFCC and other federal might to want to suppress him but only time can tell.

Which problems will arise?

Wike will expose how he rigged Rivers election for him and then what?

Mamood eyenec would come back and cancel the election results?

seunowa:
That will still not amount to anything good for Adc ....... Tinubu no be any politicians mate....

In integrity?
In accountability?
In honesty?
In democratic processes?
In fairness?
In justice?
In empathy?


In what bros?