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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 Health workers have repeatedly withdrawn services, leaving residents exposed and vulnerable.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
News
Zulum Delivers Relief, Cash Support to 434 Ngoshe Residents Rescued from Boko Haram
Zulum Delivers Relief, Cash Support to 434 Ngoshe Residents Rescued from Boko Haram
By: Our Reporter
Borno State Government has distributed relief materials to 434 indigenes of Ngoshe community in Gwoza Local Government Area who were recently rescued by security agencies after spending three months in Boko Haram captivity.
Governor Babagana Umara Zulum visited the victims in Pulka on Monday and directed the immediate distribution of food and non-food items to support their recovery and reintegration.

In compliance with the Governor’s directive, the Director General of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Alhaji Ali Abdullahi Isa, promptly supervised the distribution exercise.
Each rescued person received a bag of rice, a bag of maize grits, a mattress, a wrapper, and a shadda, while children received two pairs of clothing.

In addition, 208 heads of households received N50,000 each, fulfilling Governor Zulum’s earlier pledge of financial assistance.
Speaking during the distribution, the SEMA Director General said the intervention was part of the government’s immediate response to ease the hardship faced by the rescued victims.

“I am here at the instance of His Excellency, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, who was here some few days ago, and to deliver the items he directed that it should be given to you as emergency relief,” Ali stated.
The rescued individuals are currently receiving medical care and psychosocial support at a government facility. Upon completion of the rehabilitation process, they will be reintegrated into their respective communities.
The exercise was carried out alongside the Chairman of Gwoza local government, representatives of the Ngoshe community, and other officials.
Zulum Delivers Relief, Cash Support to 434 Ngoshe Residents Rescued from Boko Haram
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Democracy Day: Zulum gives 2 MRAPs, other logistics to Army, celebrates with IDPs
Democracy Day: Zulum gives 2 MRAPs, other logistics to Army, celebrates with IDPs
By: Michael Mike
Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, marked Democracy Day with the handover of two Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles and critical logistics to the Nigerian Army, after joining internally displaced persons (IDPs) for a symbolic celebration and distribution of food items to 2,500 beneficiaries.
The armoured MRAPs delivered to the Theatre Command of Operation Hadin Kai on Friday are intended to enhance troop protection against improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and ambushes which remain a persistent threat in the fight against insurgents. Additional logistics include operational Hilux vehicles and motorcycles for frontline soldiers in difficult terrains.
Zulum also marked Nigeria’s Democracy Day celebration with Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the Madinatu camp where he distributed food supplies, non-food items, and cash gifts to thousands of beneficiaries.
The distribution, held at the Madinatu IDP camp, served to consolidate Zulum’s resettlement gains. Over the past seven years, Borno State Government has successfully resettled more than 2 million IDPs in their ancestral communities in a dignified and voluntary manner.
“It gladdens my heart today, the 12th of June, 2026, to celebrate June 12th, Democracy Day, here in Madinatu Camp, the only formal camp that is standing inside Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, today, to the glory of God and the benefit of mankind, for the distribution of food and non-food items. Inshallah, this camp will be closed this year. This will be our last distribution exercise in this camp, or the second to the last,” Zulum said.
However, Governor Zulum used the occasion to announce a timeline for the camp’s closure. The governor ordered that Madinatu camp be shut down within one month, vowing to similarly close most IDP camps across various Local Government Areas in the coming phase of his administration’s resettlement strategy.
“Democracy must translate into restoring the dignity of our people,” Zulum told the IDPs. “Living in camps is not a permanent solution. Our goal remains to return every displaced person to their ancestral homes with security and means of livelihood.”
In addition to the food items, Zulum approved N50,000 each for the 2,500 beneficiaries present at the event.
“Each of the 500 beneficiaries mentioned will receive a 25kg bag of rice and a 25kg bag of sorghum. Women will receive wrappers. I also promise to provide 50,000 naira to each beneficiary. This amount can be credited into their own individual accounts, inshallah,” Zulum said.
The exercise was attended by the APC’s State Deputy Chairman, Garba Mulima, APC State Vice Chairman (Central) Abdur Rahman Abdulkarim, Acting Chief of Staff, Dr Babagana Mallumbe, Member representing Jere at the State Assembly, Abba Kyari Kolo, commissioners and commissioner designates and several other senior government officials.
Democracy Day: Zulum gives 2 MRAPs, other logistics to Army, celebrates with IDPs
News
Gov. Yusuf Commends DSS Over Arrest of Suspected Gun Courier in Kano
Gov. Yusuf Commends DSS Over Arrest of Suspected Gun Courier in Kano
By: Michael Mike
Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has commended the Department of State Services (DSS) for the arrest of a suspected gun courier intercepted while allegedly transporting weapons believed to be destined for criminal elements in Katsina State.
The commendation was contained in a statement issued by the Governor’s spokesperson, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, on Thursday, June 12, 2026.

Governor Yusuf described the operation as a major breakthrough in the ongoing fight against banditry, terrorism and other violent crimes threatening communities across Northern Nigeria.
According to information provided by the DSS, the suspect, identified as Muhammad Abubakar, 30, was apprehended in Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano State while allegedly transporting four rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) tubes, three AK-47 rifles and two empty magazines to Funtua in Katsina State.
Preliminary investigations reportedly revealed that the suspect collected the weapons from an individual identified as Bello in the Maigatari border area of Jigawa State and was expected to receive N450,000 upon successful delivery of the arms.
Governor Yusuf praised the professionalism, vigilance and intelligence-driven approach of DSS operatives, noting that the timely interception prevented the weapons from falling into the hands of bandits and other criminal groups.
He said the operation underscored the critical role of intelligence gathering and effective collaboration among security agencies in tackling emerging security threats across the country.
The governor reaffirmed the commitment of the Kano State Government to supporting security agencies through sustained cooperation, logistics assistance and policies aimed at strengthening public safety throughout the state.
He also urged residents to remain vigilant and continue providing credible information to security agencies to aid efforts to combat crime and maintain peace.
Governor Yusuf expressed confidence that ongoing investigations would lead to the arrest and prosecution of all individuals connected to the alleged arms trafficking network.
The statement was signed by Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, Director General, Media and Publicity, Government House, Kano.
Gov. Yusuf Commends DSS Over Arrest of Suspected Gun Courier in Kano
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