By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike, has described the Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC, Atiku Abubakar, as a “voodoo economist” who does not qualify as a leading contender in the 2027 presidential election, faulting his shifting position on fuel subsidy.
Wike, who spoke while responding to questions from journalists during an inspection of ongoing road projects in the territory, dismissed suggestions that Atiku belongs among the frontrunners for the 2027 poll, insisting that only the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), President Bola Tinubu, qualifies as a leading candidate.
Speaking in a Hausa language interview on Wednesday, Atiku had reportedly said; “I did not oppose the removal of the oil subsidy, but where is the money? Where did it go? It was intended to reduce poverty and help children attend school. Where is the money now? It seems they are just stealing it”.
He added that if elected, his administration would restore the subsidy and pursue the recovery of funds allegedly misappropriated.
“If elected, I will bring back the oil subsidy, and whoever stole the money must refund it,” he said.
Reacting to Atiku’s recent position that he would restore the fuel subsidy if elected, having earlier said in 2022 that he would remove it within his first 100 days in office, Wike said the contradiction exposed the former Vice President’s lack of consistency.
He said; “I disagree with you that Atiku is one of the leading candidates, I disagree with you. I disagree with you. You have only one leading candidate, and that’s Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu. I have told people this will be the easiest election”.
Wike argued that the absence of a united opposition front against the ruling party already signals the outcome of the 2027 election. “Opposition is not merely because parties have presented their candidates.
No opposition is united to say, ‘Look, we want to remove this government in power.’ And so, for me, I see that there was more opposition in 2023 than now. And that’s why I say that 2027 is gone. It’s gone because you don’t have an opposition that want to wrestle power from the government,” he stated.
On the substance of the fuel subsidy debate, Wike accused Atiku of inconsistency, questioning his integrity as a leader. “Atiku, who is confused? Who acts like a voodoo economist? Atiku would say anything just to be president. This was a man in 2022 who said he was going to remove the fuel subsidy because it was a fraud. Now, in 2026, he is not going to remove the fuel subsidy. Is he going back to the fraud, which he had alleged that fuel subsidy was?” he queried.
The minister noted that under the Petroleum Industry Act, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company NNPC Limited has been fully commercialised and is no longer the sole importer or producer of fuel, making Atiku’s promise difficult to actualise. “Is he going to give fuel subsidy to the Dangote Refinery? The fuel produced by Dangote Refinery, is it not going to be impossible? Tell people the simple truth,” he said.
Wike added that a more honest position would have been to argue for better utilisation of savings from the subsidy removal rather than promising an outright reversal.
He credited the removal of the fuel subsidy by the President Bola Tinubu administration with easing pressure on states and local governments, citing remarks by the Minister of Finance on the savings recorded and shared among the tiers of government. “Nobody talks about non-payment of pensions, nobody talks about non-payment of salaries. Before, for you to pay salaries, you would beg and beg the banks to give you money. But all those things are now things of the past. So, the voodoo economist that Atiku is, he has nothing to offer this country,” he said.
On the road projects inspected, Wike expressed satisfaction with the pace of work.
Responding to concerns obout insecurity, the minister disagreed that crime had risen in Abuja. “I am not saying there are no one or two incidents of crime, but to say that armed robbery has increased in Abuja, I don’t agree. Very much, I will not agree to that because we have our security report. If armed robbery happens, police will notify us, it will be in the report. So, I have not gotten such report,” he said, expressing confidence in the capacity of security agencies to handle any occurrence.
On complaints by residents that Area Council Chairmen were not doing enough despite the pace of his administration’s projects, Wike said the chairmen were directly answerable to the people who elected them and not to him. “They are the people who elected them. They should ask them. I did not appoint them, they were elected. So, everybody has his own constitutional role,” he said.
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