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Mr. President, Wike has done enough•Abandoned FCT…wrecking Rivers State-–he has to go
Mr. President, Wike has done enough
•Abandoned FCT…wrecking Rivers State-–he has to go
By Musa Pai
Two of Nigeria’s most consequential power centres today are the Federal Capital Territory and Rivers State. One is the seat of national authority and the symbol of our collective future; the other is the country’s energy nerve centre. Stability, competence, and restraint are therefore non-negotiable in the governance of both. What Nigeria is witnessing today, however, is an unhealthy concentration of political overreach by one man, Nyesom Wike, who now threatens governance in Abuja while pushing Rivers State toward needless chaos.
It is neither normal nor healthy for a minister, other than the President, to exert disruptive influence over two such critical centres simultaneously. Yet that is precisely what the Minister of the FCT has attempted: to govern Abuja in name while continuing to rule Rivers State in fact. This is not public service; it is political empire-building on steroids. And it has consequences.
After eight uninterrupted years as governor, Wike was appointed Minister of the FCT, an office with executive powers equivalent to those of a governor and, historically, one of the most sensitive portfolios in the federation. For a Southerner and a Christian, it was also a rare opportunity to serve the nation at its political core and to help advance the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda. Instead of rising to that responsibility, the minister appears consumed by an unquenchable desire to retain control of Rivers State by proxy, pursuing a third term through the back door.
The result is predictable. Abuja is drifting. While the minister boasts of road construction, and yes, some roads have been built, the city itself is unravelling. Governance cannot be reduced to asphalt. A capital city must function as a living system. Today, it does not. Parts of Abuja have had no reliable pipe-borne water since November 2025. Public sector workers are on strike. Primary and secondary schools have suffered prolonged shutdowns. Health workers have repeatedly withdrawn services, leaving residents exposed and vulnerable. Refuse heaps line major streets, drainage systems are blocked, and insecurity—one-chance robberies, kidnappings, ritual killings—has become disturbingly routine.
These are not coincidences. They are symptoms of abandonment. A minister distracted by Rivers’ politics cannot properly run the FCT. The selling off of green areas to private developers, the conversion of planning zones into a concrete jungle, and the collapse of basic city management all point to an administration without focus or accountability. Abuja is fast losing the dignity expected of the nation’s capital.
Even more damaging is what Wike’s fixation is doing to Rivers State itself. His open-ended war against Governor Siminalayi Fubara, including renewed impeachment threats, directly undermines the peace pact brokered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Rivers people did not vote for perpetual crisis. They voted for governance. The state’s importance to Nigeria’s energy security makes this reckless brinkmanship not just irresponsible but dangerous.
There is also a broader political cost that the Presidency cannot ignore. Allowing a minister, who is not even a member of the ruling party, to openly harass and destabilise an APC governor sends a troubling signal. It weakens party cohesion, emboldens indiscipline, and fuels the perception that loyalty to the President can be weaponised into personal impunity. Governors across the country are watching. So are voters.
Wike’s own rhetoric compounds the problem. His repeated boasts that he “made” the President, and his public defiance of party and presidential authority, create the impression that the Presidency is captive to one man’s ego. No President can afford that perception. Left unchecked, it erodes authority, fractures alliances, and hands the opposition a ready-made narrative of weakness and disorder.
This is not about ingratitude or denying past political support. President Tinubu has rewarded loyalty-and generously. But loyalty does not confer a licence to destabilise the federation or embarrass the government. The Renewed Hope Agenda is anchored on discipline, order, and national interest. Any official who undermines these pillars, regardless of past contributions, becomes a liability.
The danger is now clear. In the FCT, governance has stalled. In Rivers State, political tension is escalating. In both places, Wike’s actions are creating enemies for the President and damaging the administration’s standing ahead of 2027. This is a wrecking ball approach to politics—one that has already shattered his former party, the PDP (as he has been expelled), and now threatens to do collateral damage to the Presidency itself.
Mr President, leadership is ultimately about choice. You cannot afford a minister who governs nowhere entirely and destabilises everywhere deliberately. Nigeria’s capital deserves undivided attention. Rivers State deserves peace. The country deserves clarity.
The time to act is now. For the sake of Abuja, for the stability of Rivers State, and for the authority of your Presidency, Nyesom Wike must be relieved of his appointment. Anything less will be read as consent to disorder.
Musa Pai, a political analyst and concerned FCT resident writes from Abuja
Mr. President, Wike has done enough
•Abandoned FCT…wrecking Rivers State-–he has to go
VP Shettima To Insurgents: We Will Not Be Cowed By Attempts To Undermine Our Collective Peace
By: Our Reporter
Following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reaching out to the government and people of Borno State regarding the latest insurgency attack in the State, Vice President Kashim Shettima has assured that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not be cowed by despicable acts of cowardice and a doomed attempt to undermine the collective peace of the nation.
Deploring the attacks, including the abductions in Ngoshe and the coordinated assaults on military formations in Konduga, Marte, Jakana, and Mainok, the Vice President reaffirmed that the administration remains resolute in its duty to protect the lives and properties of all Nigerians.
In a statement on Saturday, Senator Shettima emphasised that the Federal Government is already deploying additional tactical assets and intelligence-driven reinforcements to the affected areas.
“The events of the past few days are a painful reminder of the shadow that persists, but let it be known: we choose light over shadow, and hope over despair. Our difference as a nation is the distance between the ruin of anarchy and the promise of order.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been briefed and has already directed a swift and total mobilisation of our security architecture. The Federal Government will not tolerate any sanctuary for those who seek to displace our people or occupy an inch of Nigerian soil,” he said.
The Vice President assured that the perpetrators of these beastly crimes would face the full wrath of the law.
He continued: “We are not just fighting a war. We are defending the very soul of our humanity against those who preach a toxic rhetoric of hate, and we will not be cowed by their gory acts.
“Our hearts bleed for the families in and the brave soldiers who paid the supreme price in the line of duty. This administration will not rest until abducted citizens safely reunite with their families.”
VP Shettima commended the resilience of the people and government of Borno State under Governor Babagana Zulum and praised the gallantry of the troops on the frontlines.
“We remain one nation, tied to a common destiny. The sanctity of human life is non-negotiable. This madness will be brought to an end, not with empty words, but with the decisive and overwhelming force of the Nigerian State,” he further assured.
VP Shettima To Insurgents: We Will Not Be Cowed By Attempts To Undermine Our Collective Peace
Two miners killed, five injured in clash at Zamfara mining site
By: Zagazola Makama
Two miners have been killed and five others injured following a clash at a mining site in Abare area of Bukkuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara.
Police sources said the incident occurred on March 5 at about 8:30 a.m. at a mining site in the community.
The sources said the crisis was triggered when a member of an outlawed vigilance group, locally known as Yan Sakai, allegedly stormed the site and attempted to enforce observance of the ongoing Ramadan fast among Muslim miners.
According to the sources, the suspect, identified simply as Kaura, allegedly arrested some of the miners, accusing them of refusing to observe the fasting period.
He was also said to have imposed compulsory levies on those arrested.
The action was reportedly resisted by some miners who objected to the arrest and the alleged illegal levies.
The suspect was said to have retreated from the site following the resistance but later returned with other members of the outlawed group and attempted to effect further arrests.
This led to a confrontation between the two groups, resulting in panic and tension across the mining site.
During the clash, two miners were killed while five others sustained injuries.
Security forces were immediately deployed to the scene after receiving the report.
The injured victims were taken for medical treatment, while investigations have commenced to identify and apprehend those responsible.
No arrest had been made as of the time of filing the report.
Two miners killed, five injured in clash at Zamfara mining site
Army troops neutralise 45 bandits in Katsina, including top bandit leader Kachallah Alti
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of the Nigerian Army have neutralised 45 suspected bandits during a fierce encounter in Danmusa Local Government Area of Katsina State.
Security sources said the operation followed credible intelligence on the movement of bandits suspected to be operating across parts of Katsina and neighbouring Zamfara.
Among those killed during the operation were two top bandit leaders identified as Alti, said to be a nephew and second-in-command to notorious bandit kingpin Adamu Alieru, and another commander known as Damale.
The sources said the confrontation occurred after bandits riding on motorcycles and armed with sophisticated weapons attacked Alhazawa village in Musawa Local Government Area on March 5, rustling cattle from residents.
Community members and some repentant bandits in the area reportedly resisted the attack, killing four of the bandits and recovering the stolen cattle, which were returned to their owners.
However, the bandits were said to have regrouped and returned in larger numbers on March 6, allegedly to launch a reprisal attack.
While moving toward Musawa through Maidabino A Ward, the bandits encountered troops deployed at the Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Dan Ali, Danmusa LGA.
This led to a fierce gun battle during which troops overpowered the criminals and neutralised 45 of them.
However, the operation recorded casualties on the side of the military as three soldiers were killed during the encounter.
Further checks indicated that Alti had recently assumed a more active operational role within the bandit network after the death of his brother, Kachalla Dan Isihu, who was previously killed by security forces during counter-banditry operations.
Alti was said to have coordinated several violent attacks across communities, particularly along the Danjibga axis in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara.
Security sources said troops had intensified operations in the area to track down other fleeing bandits and dismantle their networks.
Army troops neutralise 45 bandits in Katsina, including top bandit leader Kachallah Alti
VP Shettima To Insurgents: We Will Not Be Cowed By Attempts To Undermine Our Collective Peace
Two miners killed, five injured in clash at Zamfara mining site
Army troops neutralise 45 bandits in Katsina, including top bandit leader Kachallah Alti
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