Senator Adams Oshiomhole has heaped praise on FCT Minister Nyesom Wike for what he described as exceptional leadership, crediting him with delivering impressive results for his party in the recently concluded FCT Area Council elections.
Oshiomhole made the remarks on Monday, February 23, during the handover of 54 pieces of construction equipment to the 18 local government areas in Edo State.
The senator commended Wike’s role in the elections, pointing to the PDP’s second-place finish behind the APC as evidence of the minister’s political influence.
“If anybody was in doubt, he did the one that yesterday when his party came second after APC. To take second after APC, no issue. Particularly where some people got not over 100,” Oshiomhole said.
He went further, describing Wike as a groundbreaking figure from the South-South geopolitical zone who had transformed the FCT.
“The first person from our geopolitical zone, South South, to go to Abuja as a city minister and minister in a way that has refined and redefined the concept of development,” Oshiomhole said.
The senator also acknowledged the relationship between Wike and the Edo State governor, expressing appreciation for the continued cooperation between both leaders.
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“I want to congratulate you. And I want to thank our governor for sustaining the friendship with the honorable minister of FCT,” he added.
Oshiomhole’s praise of Wike comes a day after President Bola Tinubu publicly credited the FCT minister for delivering political dividends to the APC through his work in Abuja.
Wike, who remains officially a member of the PDP, has faced sustained criticism from within his party for his open alignment with the ruling APC since his appointment as FCT minister.
The withdrawal of PDP chairmanship candidates in AMAC and Bwari Area Councils ahead of Saturday’s elections, reportedly at Wike’s intervention, further fuelled accusations that he was working against the opposition party’s interests.
The APC swept the FCT elections, winning key chairmanship seats across the territory amid low voter turnout that opposition parties attributed partly to the curfew Wike imposed ahead of the polls.