Your coalition bound to fail; has failed— Wike
By Orkula Shaagee
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, at different forums yesterday differed sharply on the success and failure of the planned coalition to unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
While Atiku remains certain and fully invested in the success of the coalition and its capacity to dethrone Tinubu in the 2027 election, Wike dismisses it, saying it “ will fail, has failed and will not see the light of the day.”
Wike spoke during the inauguration of projects in Abuja yesterday, insisting that the planned coalition by Atiku and other opposition heavyweights will fail.
But Atiku, speaking through his Media Aide, Paul Ibe, sharply differed, saying that the Tinubu administration is already ‘scared’ of the 2027 coalition, and urged Nigerians to join forces with the opposition, sack the President from office and usher in a responsive government that would truly deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.
Ibe spoke on Channels Television. He insisted that Tinubu’s camp is pushing a proliferation of narratives out of fear, and urged Nigerians to remain focused on voting him out of power, adding that only a united opposition would make this happen.
“Nigerians should keep their eyes on the ball, they should be focused. Better days are coming but we need to work for it, and that work has to start with ensuring that this administration is shown the exit door (in 2027).
“A united opposition is key to all of this. All of the things that (they are saying), that the coalition is not going to work is because they are scared; they are scared of the prospect of the coalition. Otherwise, why has that become a talking point? Whether it succeeds or not is not their business.”
Asked about his assessment of Tinubu’s government so far, Ibe described it as “a total failure.”
He said that instead of focusing on governance, the present administration was focusing on the 2027 election.
“It’s all about 2027, focus on the job, focus on governance, make life meaningful and better for Nigerians, and make food affordable. Let there be security of lives and property, which is the primary responsibility of any government,” he said.
Atiku’s spokesman dismissed the administration’s promises to Nigerians that things will get better, saying that there is no silver lining on the horizon. Two years down the line, he said, there are no signs that things would get better.
He maintained that if things were going to be better in two years, Nigerians would have started feeling the impact.
But earlier yesterday, Minister Wike dismissed the coalition, saying President Tinubu’s “good works” since assuming office in 2023 have put paid to any plots to unseat him.
“Your good work has killed the coalition,” he told the President, “I was thinking that, truly, there would be a coalition, but the coalition is bound to fail, and it has failed,” he said.