The Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has told his detractors that their efforts to bring him down will be unsuccessful, emphasizing that past attempts to undermine him also failed.
The former Governor of Rivers State conveyed this message over the weekend during a New Year visit to his loyalist and former Rivers Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bro. Felix Obuah, at his Omoku country home in Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni (ONELGA) Local Government Area.
Accompanied by the Minister of Petroleum (State), Heineken Lokpobiri, and other dignitaries, Wike was warmly received by a crowd of supporters.
Reflecting on the history of his friendship with Obuah, popularly known as Go Round, Wike recounted their initial meeting and highlighted how their bond had grown over the years despite facing numerous challenges.
The minister said Obuah had become a target by those plotting his downfall, but said such individuals would surely fail because God is with him.
He said, “Anybody that God has raised you cannot bring him down. It doesn’t matter how many they are; it doesn’t matter the number of meetings they hold. They will not succeed.
“It is not about today; you praise Wike, heaven and earth know without Wike this and that. The next day, Wike must go down. It is not going to work. The grace you carry cannot bring me down.
“I’m not the most intelligent person; I’m not the most handsome person, but as it pleases God, He chooses to put me where I am. So anybody wasting his time to plot against me is plotting against yourself. They should go and check the history of those who plotted what happened to them. They all failed. You must be a man of character.”.
Wike insisted that Obuah’s successes had brought many enemies to him and remembered how he was stripped of all his belongings by his predecessor to stop him from becoming chairman of the party in 2014.
He said: “My relationship with Felix Obuah started in 2004 when he became the Chairman of the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area. That was my second tenure and his first tenure. He showed that he is a man whom God has blessed, and therefore he always contributes to people in appreciation of God’s blessings in his life.
“And that is what brought about the nickname ‘go round’. Being a successful man is not about the amount of property you have. Being a successful man does not depend on how rich you are. It is the impact you make on the lives of people. You are a successful politician, not because you have been able to acquire a lot of wealth.
“How many people can you identify as having made a positive impact in their lives? Go-round is not just a successful man; he is a successful politician who has impacted people. That is why, just like an ordinary family Thanksgiving, you can see the number of people that are here.
“You must also note that this carries a lot of enmity; it brings a lot of jealousy and envy. Some so many people had the opportunity here from the local government and may have been this and that; can they say that while they were there, they were able to do this and that?
“That is why everything is being done to bring Felix Obuah down. But nobody can bring anybody down. Felix Obuah is a man of character. Do you know why he was denied the chairmanship of ONELG in 2006/2007? I can tell you. We were all together working for one gubernatorial candidate, and because he was supporting that gubernatorial candidate they denied him a ticket.
“But did he die? Did he go down? Rather, he is going up and up. Now when the battle was tough, that is how you know men of character. In 2014, this young man was to run for chairmanship of the PDP in the state. It was very turbulent. The then Governor, my predecessor, took everything that this young man worked for in life, his lands in Omoku, his lands in Port Harcourt, his school—and the government of Rivers State then revoked it for public purposes just to punish him and to make him say, look I’m not going to run for this chairmanship of the party again.
“His lovely wife came while we were in Abuja, saying sir, this is all we have. How are we going to train our children in school? What is the chairman of the party? He told the wife that I was not born with this property; it was by the grace of God. God gave me the strength and the enablement I have to buy this and that and do this.
“It is the same God who wants me to do this, and he will not allow me to go down. But I’m going to contest for the chairmanship. He did it to the glory of God, and he won. He took over the machinery of the party and supported me; I became governor.
“And those things that God gave him that somebody has decided to take, I didn’t waste time; I said take back your property. Today, is he not the one here? There is nothing that I have told him to do; he may not be happy, and it may be painful to him, but he is one of those people who will not hesitate to say, Well, since you have said I should do this, I will do it.”.
Wike used the opportunity to apologize to Go Round and the people of the local government for not supporting the governorship ambitions of their son in 2023.
He said if support and contributions were the yardstick used to decide the governorship candidate of the PDP in the last election, he would have supported Go Round.
Wike said, “In 2023, if you look at those who ordinarily I should support for governorship, go-round should have been one of them at the forefront. That is, if we do things based on your contribution, based on your support, go-round is the first two persons that ought to get my support.
“I summoned him to my house. So I used this opportunity to apologize to all of you, Ogba, Ogba/Egbeme/Ndoni for making a decision that hurt you. I’m sorry. It is because you know your judgment may not be right all the time.
“But I’m a human being; I may make mistakes. But what is important is for you to realize that you have made a mistake and apologized to the people. So I beg you to beg God to forgive me. I hope one day another opportunity may come. But let nobody lose faith; let nobody lose hope. Whoever you are, you are. There is no amount of gang up that can make you lose faith in your God.
“We will still be what we are. That strength that God has given us, that know-how that God has given us, we will replicate at the appropriate time. At the appropriate time, we will know who knows left and who knows right. So this is not the time for politicking.
“Leadership is all about firmness. Leadership is all about courage. Leadership is all about transparency. When a leader makes a wrong decision, nothing stops that leader from coming back to say I’m sorry for the decision I made. That is leadership.”
Wike observed that his detractors were trying to downplay his achievements in office and his influence in the party, especially ahead of the last elections adding that some people were referring to him as wicked.
He said, “Anything anybody wants,, we have the capacity. Somebody said here about Egi, I don’t want to go there. Somebody said they brought the Deputy Governor. They brought the deputy governor; now not so. No problem. We know how water entered the melon.
“Some people today are claiming they brought. No problem. I’m not dragging anything with anybody, but what is important is that all of us know how water entered the melon. Before I left office, I finished the first phase of the dualization of Ahoada to Omoku.
“And I told you I’m going to start the second phase from Ojoko down to Omoku. I prepared the payment and said that every month Julius Berger would take N4 billion. Dualization from Emuoha to Kalabari I awarded to Julius Berger, who collects so and so amount of money every month.
“I initiated the ring road. As governor, I approved it at the State Executive Council because I believe that there will be continuity and consolidation. I laid the foundation, but nobody laid the foundation for me. I came, and I saw nothing. No handover note to me.
“I didn’t have a car; even for my swearing in, I had to borrow a car from Ondo State. The governor of Ondo State then, Mimiko donated their car for us to use for my swearing-in. But before I left as governor, I provided vehicles for everybody that was coming as governor and deputy governor.
“Don’t bother about people abusing me on social media. Is it a ghost they will abuse? Why are you people worried? They said Wike wicked. Don’t worry yourself. It is the same wicked man who asks people to go around to step down.
“I was wicked then when I asked go-round to step down, Boma Iyaye, stepped down, so so did the person step down. And you benefited from the wickedness. Don’t worry, whatever you sow, you will reap.”.
Wike said he would not play politics with the peace of Rivers, adding that the electoral positions shared between the APC and PDP in the state should remain in the interest of peace.
He asked the people of the council to keep supporting Go Round and to remain alert, reiterating that he would continue to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s disposition for peace in Rivers.
Wike said: “I didn’t come here to talk this party and that part, no. At my level now, my own is to bring everybody together. When you see two of your children quarreling, do you need to take sides? Your own is to preach peace.
“APC and PDP I bring peace to all of you. So you people should maintain peace. PDP has a local government, PDP has a national assembly, and PDP has a governor. APC has taken assembly. That is why APC can come out here and talk. That is why the PDP can talk.
“But if only one team has taken all, there will be a crisis. It is not good to be too greedy. That is why you are seeing peace now. And peace shall reign in this state. Let me also tell you that Mr. President has called us and Oba spoke to me. If there is one traditional ruler I respect, it is the Oba of Ogbaland, His Eminence. I said it in his palace not because of him, but even when the late eminence was there, He was one of the people who blessed me when I was going for governorship, and His Eminence cannot tell me something I said now.”