By Lateef Adegbite
Nyesom Wike, immediate past governor of Rives state and who has technically left the Opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP, serve as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, a position that had been occupied over the years by northern Political appointees has given an insight why he joined the Administration.
The former governor who has been lambasted in the Social Media over the last couple of weeks because of the raging political crisis in the oil River state believed to have been master –minded by him to prove to Simnalayi Fubara, whom he had installed to be his successor that he still holds the key and can remove him at any time from office by telling the state House of Assembly Lawmakers on what to do : impeach him, cause disaffection in the government by forcing the Commissioners loyal to him in his government to resign.
The resignation of Hon. Ogerenye Edison, one of the four members of the state House of Assembly loyal to Fubara, the state governor and who had emerged as the Speaker of the House when 27 others from the ruling PDP, decamped to APC, on the advice of The FCT minister speaks volume.
The FCT minister, who sees himself as a power broker in the Opposition people’s Democratic Party, PDP, as he has refused to tender his resignation from the party or the party Leadership taking the bull by the horn to suspend him had said that he had joined the Tinubu’s Administration ‘’to help him achieve his eight points agenda of renewed hope for Nigeria’’.
In his 2024, New Year broadcast to the nation, the former Lagos state governor had listed the eight priority areas of his Administration to include national defense and internal security, job creation, macro-economic stability, investment environment optimization, human capital development, poverty alleviation and social security.
The former Rivers state governor who could not hide his feelings had said that he was also encouraged to join the APC , government because the Lagos state born Nigerian President has the capacity and political will to do those things that his predecessors were afraid to do . He had alluded to the removal of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popular, petrol subsidy and unification of the Autonomous and Parallel or balck market foreign exchange rates as part of efforts to revamp the economy, revitalize the country’s floundering industrial sector, boost agricultural production and increase national productivity.
Describing Tinubu, as a listening Nigerian President who has confidence in him and who is looking for people who will support him to achieve the renewed hope promised Nigerians during his 2023, electioneering Campaigns , he had said that the former Lagos state governor means well for Nigeria, noting that he will him ‘’to deliver the renewed hope agenda and owe nobody ant apology’’.
It was not surprising why he had said that he will not contest against Iwon’t allow anybody crumble our political structure, he had said.him in the upcoming 2027 Presidential election. He was emphatic that having worked for the emergence of the APC , former National Leader as Nigerian President on the February 25, 2023, general election and having been appointed minister of FCT, ‘’nothing would make contest against him in 2027’’.
Tinubu, who Daniel Bwala, a Chieftain of the PDP, had said will spend eight years in office a Nigeria’s President and Commander –in –Chief of the Armed Forces, without the a coalition of the opposition parties may have made Nigerians to understand that he takes the party development agenda seriously as captured in the 2024 budget of N28.7 trillion which has been signed into Law by him for implementation.
The 2024 budget, according to an informed source was N2 trillion than theoriginal budget propsed to a joint session of the National Assembly by the President on November 9, 2023. The Lawmakers may have increased the appropriation bill from N27.5 tn to N28.7 tnn, by an additional N1.2 tn, to ensure execution of the people-oriented projects in the eight priority areas of the Administration to address the cost of living crisis in the country.
Dave Umahi, an Enr. and former governor of Eboyi state and political ally of Wike, who incidentally is now minister of Works under the Tnubu’s Administration had reassured Commuters that given support from the President the Makurdi –Nsukka 9th Mile road, East –West Road, , Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, , Benin bypass road, collapsed bridges of Enugu-PortHarcourt road, collapsed bridges of Shandam- Plateau state, , Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road and Gombe- Bauchi road infrastructure would be tackled head on, confirming what Wike had said that Tinubu means well for Nigeria .
The former Eboyi state governor had told those that cares to listen that not minding the heavy volume of debt burden inherited from most of the ongoing road projects across the country, the N300 million funding in the 2023 budget dividend into the N100 billion immediate palliative works on the Federal road in the 36 states of the Federation including the FCT and N200 billion approved by the President for completion of ongoing road projects, the ministry has no reason not to deliver on its mandate.
The minister who had repeatedly said that the government has made’’ road construction, rehabilitation and maintenance across the country a priority to bring succor to Nigerians has vowed to keep to the mandate.
But Nuhu Ribadu, an Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG, rtd and Pioneer Executive Chairman, Economic and Finance Crimes Co mmission, FCC, and now National Security Adviser, NSA, to the President who has asked Nigerians ‘’to be patient with the Administration’’ had said that Tinubu has the Capacity to deliver on his electioneering Campaign promises.
He noted that but for the crisis inherited from the Buhari’s Administration which could not be solved overnight, as the new government has hit the ground running over the last seven months it would have made appreciable impact on every sectors of the economy including addressing the country’s security challenges within the borders to ensure that contractors handling ongoing road projects across the country do their work without harassment of their staff.
He may have alluded to the insurgency in the north eastern states of Borno , Yobe, , militancy in the the south- eastern region, and Banditry in the north western states of Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi states, which are major threats to firms contracted by the government to rehabilitate major road projects in different part of the country and farmers in the flash point states.
