* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Sunday, August 3, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Go-to entertainment: why gaming was made for the toilet – The Guardian

    Why Gaming Is the Ultimate Way to Pass Time in the Bathroom

    Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra takes the Lollapalooza stage – Yahoo Home

    Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra takes the Lollapalooza stage – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn, Warnock introduce CREATE Act to provide tax relief to music creators – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn and Warnock Launch CREATE Act to Deliver Tax Relief for Music Creators

    That’s (Political) Entertainment: When Theatre Meets Politics

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Changing Collective Bargaining in the Entertainment Industry – Jackson Lewis

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Transforming Collective Bargaining in Entertainment

    The SBA’s live-entertainment bailout was supposed to end two years ago. We still don’t know how $1.5 billion was spent. – Yahoo Home

    $1.5 Billion Live-Entertainment Bailout: Two Years Later, Where Did the Money Go?

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Microsoft Seeks to Extend Access to OpenAI Technology – PYMNTS.com

    Microsoft Aims to Broaden Access to OpenAI Technology

    Livonia police use grappler technology to stop drunk driver – ClickOnDetroit | WDIV Local 4

    Livonia Police Deploy Grappler Technology to Safely Stop Drunk Driver

    Emory orthopaedic surgeons use robotic technology to transform knee replacement surgery – Emory News Center

    How Robotic Technology is Revolutionizing Knee Replacement Surgery

    Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue … – Yahoo.co

    Cognizant Q2 2025 Earnings: Impressive Revenue Growth and Key Takeaways

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    More than just a hockey player – Rochester Institute of Technology Athletics

    Beyond the Ice: The Inspiring Journey of a Remarkable Athlete from Rochester Institute of Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Go-to entertainment: why gaming was made for the toilet – The Guardian

    Why Gaming Is the Ultimate Way to Pass Time in the Bathroom

    Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra takes the Lollapalooza stage – Yahoo Home

    Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra takes the Lollapalooza stage – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn, Warnock introduce CREATE Act to provide tax relief to music creators – Yahoo Home

    Sens. Blackburn and Warnock Launch CREATE Act to Deliver Tax Relief for Music Creators

    That’s (Political) Entertainment: When Theatre Meets Politics

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Changing Collective Bargaining in the Entertainment Industry – Jackson Lewis

    Future Script: How Generative AI Is Transforming Collective Bargaining in Entertainment

    The SBA’s live-entertainment bailout was supposed to end two years ago. We still don’t know how $1.5 billion was spent. – Yahoo Home

    $1.5 Billion Live-Entertainment Bailout: Two Years Later, Where Did the Money Go?

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Microsoft Seeks to Extend Access to OpenAI Technology – PYMNTS.com

    Microsoft Aims to Broaden Access to OpenAI Technology

    Livonia police use grappler technology to stop drunk driver – ClickOnDetroit | WDIV Local 4

    Livonia Police Deploy Grappler Technology to Safely Stop Drunk Driver

    Emory orthopaedic surgeons use robotic technology to transform knee replacement surgery – Emory News Center

    How Robotic Technology is Revolutionizing Knee Replacement Surgery

    Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue … – Yahoo.co

    Cognizant Q2 2025 Earnings: Impressive Revenue Growth and Key Takeaways

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    Revving Up The U.S. Technology Engine – Forbes

    More than just a hockey player – Rochester Institute of Technology Athletics

    Beyond the Ice: The Inspiring Journey of a Remarkable Athlete from Rochester Institute of Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Wike is not a fit and proper person to be FCT Minister

November 20, 2023
in Business
Wike is not a fit and proper person to be FCT Minister
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Let me say this unequivocally from the outset. A Southern-Christian is perfectly eligible to be Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Without a shadow of a doubt, a Christian from Southern Nigeria is as much qualified as a Muslim from Northern Nigeria to administer the FCT. So, this intervention is not an endorsement of Sheikh Ahmad Gumi’s recent diatribe against a Southern-Christian Minister of Abuja. However, while a Southern-Christian is eligible to be FCT Minister, that Southern-Christian, just like any Northern-Muslim, must be a fit and proper person. I submit that Nyesom Wike, the rumbustious and self-regarding former governor of Rivers State, is not a fit and proper person to be FCT Minister.

Read also: Wike seeks partnership with UAE to develop Abuja tourism

Well, here’s why. Abuja belongs to all Nigerians; it’s a symbol of national unity, of common nationality. Therefore, it insults the sensibility of Nigeria and the intelligence of Nigerians to appoint someone reputed for using public office for self-aggrandisement, political brigandage and private gain as FCT Minister. Truth is, Wike epitomises the worst in any politician. He’s a brash and bullying narcissist, who sees political power through narrow self-interests. Former Governor Ayo Fayose once said: “If Wike says he will fight you, he will fight you to the end.” But Wike is utterly irrelevant without political office and control of public funds. They are what give him oxygen. Hence, it’s offensive to allow him to use Abuja to advance his personal and political interests as he did magisterially in Rivers State.

But we must start with Bola Tinubu, the idiosyncratic president, who made Wike Abuja Minister. Tinubu has shown a predilection for personal rule and raw exercise of political power. Despite his weak mandate, having been rejected overwhelmingly by 63 per cent of the voters, Tinubu is ruling Nigeria like an absolute monarch, with utter arrogance and appalling insensitivity: arrogance in making his political appointments; insensitivity in spending lavishly to feed the luxuries of his presidency.

Wike would be politically irrelevant without being FCT Minister. The office gives him the political clout and wherewithal to cripple the PDP and turn Fubara into his poodle

Take his whooping N2.18 trillion supplementary budget. Tinubu budgets N13.5 billion to renovate his residence and that of his vice-president; N5.8 billion to buy vehicles for the presidential villa; N1.5 billion to buy SUVs for his wife’s “office”, and N4 Billion for a presidential yacht. Bloomberg, the global financial news outlet, says: “Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s first supplementary budget includes a fleet of SUVs for himself and his wife, a presidential yacht and the renovation of his villa amid a cost of living crisis for some of the poorest people in the world.” At the same time, the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, approved a 114 per cent salary increase for political office holders, including the president. Meanwhile, Tinubu’s son flew a presidential jet to watch a polo match in Kano. Add all these together, you have a president who puts his personal comfort and the comfort of others in power above the wellbeing of ordinary citizens.

But Tinubu also puts politicking above governing. Since his first day in office, he has made political calculations to shore up support for his re-election in 2027. Wike’s appointment as FCT Minister is central to such calculations. Of course, Wike’s appointment was, in part, to compensate him for his controversial role in Tinubu’s election, but it’s also to bolster Tinubu’s support base in the South-South. As a result, Tinubu has given Wike more power than any FCT Minister ever had.

For instance, Tinubu exempted FCT from the Treasury Single Account, TSA, introduced to tackle corruption and mismanagement in government parastatals. The exemption gives Wike vast control over the resources and revenues of the FCT. Tinubu also approved the creation of the FCT Civil Service Commission, which would give Wike enormous administrative powers. Yet, the FCT has no stand-alone legislature to hold Wike accountable. As a Minister, he is answerable to Tinubu who, for political reasons, will look the other way. Thus, Tinubu has made Wike the Emperor of Abuja much like he was the Emperor of Rivers State!

Read also: Governor Fubara affirms loyalty to Wike, his predecessor

But Wike exemplifies the saying that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Indeed, in his first day in office as FCT Minister, he exuded magisterial power by parading an armoured Lexus LX 600 SUV with the plate number “FCT-01”. Those who did not know that politics and government is about the actualisation of human flourishing hailed Wike as “Mr Project” for building bridges and flyovers even though Rivers State has among the highest unemployment and poverty rates in Nigeria, and his government failed to pay salaries and pensions for years. But even if Wike was “Mr Project”, he was also “Mr Demolition”. As governor, he demolished the properties of countless political opponents, as he’s likely to do in Abuja. And, of course, political thuggery and killings were prevalent under his administration. Indeed, in their book titled ‘Nigeria: What Everyone Needs To Know’, John Campbell and Matthew Page said the ruling party in Rivers State “armed and funded vigilante groups as a tool for rigging elections.”

As I said, it was for such political utility that Tinubu appointed and empowered Wike as the FCT Minister. Wike has already shown his appreciation by pledging his commitment to Tinubu’s re-election. Recently, he told Rivers State APC members who visited him: “We will vote for Tinubu again in 2027.” Yet, he insists he is a PDP member. Indeed, PDP governors paid him a courtesy visit, even though he told them point-blank that he would campaign against PDP’s presidential candidate in 2027. No serious democracy works that way. But Wike has tightened his grip on the PDP and will go for the jugular, ensuring the party is dead and sunk by 2027.

Yet, Wike can only flex such political muscles because of his position as a powerful FCT Minister. If he was just another Minister, without Abuja as his personal fiefdom, he won’t indulge in political grandstanding as if he was still a powerful governor. Which raises the question: Given that Wike has no relevance without political power, why is he able to use the pivotal office of FCT Minister to undermine the party system that underpins Nigeria’s democracy? Surely, it’s the height of political arrogance and insensitivity that, for selfish reasons, Tinubu allows Wike to use Abuja, Nigeria’s administrative and political capital and a symbol of neutrality, as a power base to pursue his personal agenda and destructive politics.

That toxic politics was on display recently when Wike attempted to trigger the impeachment of Siminalayi Fubara, his immediate successor, less than six months into his governorship. Fubara was Rivers State’s Accountant-General under Wike, who hand picked him as his successor. When EFCC declared Fubara wanted and attempted to arrest him before the election over alleged misuse of N435bn, Wike stood four-square behind him. So, how come he wanted Fubara impeached within six months in office, saying “impeachment is not a military coup”?

Wike dismissed allegations that he fell out with Fubara so quickly because he refused to meet his demand for N20bn every month. Rather, he said: “I have to be politically relevant, and I must maintain my political structure.” But how do politicians maintain their political structure? Of course, they use public funds as political currency. So, it’s hard to believe that public money and contract awards are not at the heart of Wike’s animus towards Fubara.

Read also: Reps tell Wike to prioritise security, revenue generation

But I repeat: Wike would be politically irrelevant without being FCT Minister. The office gives him the political clout and wherewithal to cripple the PDP and turn Fubara into his poodle. Yet, Abuja’s neutrality demands that no politician should use it as a base to fight political opponents and toxify Nigerian politics. Wike as FCT Minister offends Nigeria’s sensibility!

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Businessday.ng – https://businessday.ng/columnist/article/wike-is-not-a-fit-and-proper-person-to-be-fct-minister/

Tags: businesspersonproper
Previous Post

Fight Anxiety, Immune Booster, Improve fertility And Combat Hypertension

Next Post

Employing advanced technologies for improved production in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry

Study reveals China’s ecological red lines offer blueprint for biodiversity protection – Phys.org

Study reveals China’s ecological red lines offer blueprint for biodiversity protection – Phys.org

August 3, 2025
What do TSA bag scanners actually see? – Popular Science

What do TSA bag scanners actually see? – Popular Science

August 3, 2025
Why does your mind goes ‘blank’? New brain scans reveal the surprising answer – Live Science

Why does your mind goes ‘blank’? New brain scans reveal the surprising answer – Live Science

August 3, 2025
U.S. POINTER Study shows lifestyle program improves cognition in older adults – University of California – Davis Health

Lifestyle Program Boosts Cognitive Health in Older Adults, New Study Finds

August 3, 2025
World Championships, Day Eight Finals: Kliment Kolesnikov Blazes to Title in 50 Backstroke; Tie for Silver – Swimming World

Kliment Kolesnikov Blazes to Victory in 50 Backstroke as Day Eight of World Championships Ends with a Silver Medal Tie

August 3, 2025
Bond investors warm to risk, with Fed staying put in ‘Goldilocks’ economy – Reuters

Bond Investors Take Bold Steps as Fed Maintains Steady Course in a ‘Goldilocks’ Economy

August 3, 2025
Go-to entertainment: why gaming was made for the toilet – The Guardian

Why Gaming Is the Ultimate Way to Pass Time in the Bathroom

August 3, 2025
Covenant Health offers immunizations, activities for kids at Back to School Bash – KCBD

Covenant Health’s Back to School Bash: A Fun-Filled Immunization and Activities Event for Kids

August 3, 2025
Trump tells Schumer to ‘go to hell’ as Senate heads home after failed attempt to strike deal on nominees – CNN

Trump tells Schumer to ‘go to hell’ as Senate heads home after failed attempt to strike deal on nominees – CNN

August 3, 2025
Microsoft Seeks to Extend Access to OpenAI Technology – PYMNTS.com

Microsoft Aims to Broaden Access to OpenAI Technology

August 3, 2025

Categories

Archives

August 2025
MTWTFSS
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Jul    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (752)
  • Economy (777)
  • Entertainment (21,654)
  • General (16,263)
  • Health (9,814)
  • Lifestyle (785)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (777)
  • Politics (786)
  • Science (15,990)
  • Sports (21,272)
  • Technology (15,754)
  • World (758)

Recent News

Study reveals China’s ecological red lines offer blueprint for biodiversity protection – Phys.org

Study reveals China’s ecological red lines offer blueprint for biodiversity protection – Phys.org

August 3, 2025
What do TSA bag scanners actually see? – Popular Science

What do TSA bag scanners actually see? – Popular Science

August 3, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version