The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr. Nyesom Wike, has called on Nigerians to reject what he described as “political gamblers” who are deploying deceit, ethnic sentiments and staged humanitarian gestures to gain access to public office ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Wike, who spoke on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at the inaugural Idoma Hall of Fame induction ceremony held as part of the Idoma Centenary Plus celebration in Abuja, took a swipe at politicians who never identified with the poor while in office but now celebrate birthdays in IDP camps because they want to be president.
“How can someone who was not celebrating his birthdays with the downtrodden when he was Governor now be taken seriously just because he now goes to IDP camps to celebrate his birthday because he wants to be president?” Wike queried.
The former Rivers State Governor urged Nigerians to look beyond ethnic sentiments, political calculations and the struggle for power to demand leadership that prioritises competence, fairness, accountability and service delivery.
Delivering a keynote address on the theme, ‘People, Politics and Power Play in Nigeria: The Agitation for Equity and Fairness’, the FCT Minister warned against politicians who exploit grievances over marginalisation to advance personal interests.
He argued that the country’s political future depended on citizens’ ability to distinguish between genuine public servants and those seeking power for personal or sectional advantage, urging Nigerians to scrutinise the intentions and records of political leaders rather than allow ethnic loyalty and the politics of entitlement to determine their choices.
According to him, the persistent agitation for equity and fairness should not become an avenue for political opportunism or the redistribution of privileges among competing groups.
“One of the enduring difficulties of our political life is the tendency to convert public power into private possession,” Wike said, adding that when political office becomes a means of personal accumulation, public resources are turned into instruments of private enrichment, while sectional domination alienates citizens who feel excluded from governance.
The Minister warned that Nigeria’s quest for fairness would remain unresolved if political actors focused only on which ethnic group or region controlled power without addressing the conditions under which it was exercised.
“If one group replaces another at the table while the benefits remain fundamentally exclusionary, the occupants have changed, but the injustice has not,” he declared.
Wike also challenged Nigerians to examine their own commitment to fairness, warning against demanding justice only when their own communities are disadvantaged.
“If we complain about marginalisation only when our own people are excluded, but become silent when others are marginalised after our people gain power, we are not opposing injustice; we are seeking access to its privileges,” he said.
He maintained that the true test of fairness was the willingness to defend justice even when it did not favour one’s ethnic group or political interests.
Wike stressed that Nigeria needs a political culture where public office is regarded as a trust rather than an entitlement, noting that the federal character principle enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, as amended, was designed to promote national unity and prevent domination of public institutions by a few states or sectional groups.
However, he cautioned that the pursuit of equitable representation should not come at the expense of competence.
“A Nigerian should not be excluded from public office because of where he or she comes from; neither should competence become irrelevant once a candidate’s identity satisfies a representational expectation,” he said.
He argued that the performance of political leaders should be measured by tangible benefits their decisions deliver to citizens, rather than the identities of those occupying positions.
“The real measure of political inclusion is therefore not simply who occupies office, but what the exercise of that office produces for the people,” he said, adding that inclusion would remain incomplete without access to jobs, quality education, healthcare, infrastructure, electricity, security and economic opportunities.
Wike observed that Nigeria has adopted several mechanisms to accommodate its diversity, including federalism, state creation, revenue allocation, zoning and rotational presidency, but such arrangements alone cannot guarantee fairness without strong institutions.
The event was organised in collaboration with Och’Idoma as part of the Idoma Centenary Plus celebration.
Wike commended the organisers for establishing the Idoma Hall of Fame to recognise distinguished sons and daughters of the community, preserve its history and inspire future generations.
