The minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has described opposition political parties as “known liars”, accusing them of misleading Nigerians on claims of political reform.
Wike made the remarks on Monday during his monthly media briefing in Abuja, where he called out contradictions and a lack of credibility in their internal democratic processes, particularly in their recently concluded primaries.
The minister specifically cited the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), accusing them of presenting themselves as morally superior while still being plagued by internal disputes.
According to him, parties that claim to be “untainted” or “messianic” have failed to conduct credible internal elections without controversy, raising questions about their capacity to provide better leadership.
“They said they are the saviour that will come. What has happened now?
“NDC said we are the new face of democracy. ADC said this kind of party is a party that hasn’t been polluted one day; it is a party that God just brought from the womb.
“What has happened? So dirty. See what has happened in the NDC. As small as they are, they cannot do a primary without protest.
“Look at ADC, who said it’s a coalition to take over from APC to stop the distortion of democracy. What has happened?
“While the congress was going on, two presidential aspirants said, ‘We cannot believe that you will perpetrate this.’ We have been accusing this party of doing this. Now see what we are doing; see what we have done.
“So that now tells you, who is deceiving whom? Who is coming to Nigeria to tell them lie “that we are the new born baby, the messiahs of the time of Nigeria”? This is what we want to do.”
Wike further said Nigerians were becoming aware of what he described as inconsistencies in the opposition’s messaging, adding that they could not present themselves as a “newborn” alternative while facing similar internal challenges.
“PDP is a dead party, according to you. You’ve said here APC is rotten. They cannot help Nigerian democracy. Just ordinary Congress. You have three presidential aspirants; two said, ‘This is rubbish. This is criminality to the highest order’. Why are we complaining against another party.
“My assessment is that I prefer, from what I’ve seen, the old parties that are running are those that have even tested this environment and have known what Nigerian culture is all about,” Wike added.
