By Farooq A. Kperogi
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike revels in controversies, contentious public disputations, vituperative recriminations, and tensile political stress like a pig exults in mud. Peace and harmony bore him to tears. That is why he has an incrementally lengthening list of political spats with multiple people.
His quarrel with Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his former protégé, is his biggest and most sustained conflict. He is waging an open, ugly battle with his handpicked successor over political control in Rivers State, including public accusations and counter-accusations tied to governance decisions, patronage, and the state’s political machinery.
He remains entangled in the PDP’s internal civil war, including arguments over whether disciplinary actions against him and his allies stand, plus competing claims of authority and legitimacy inside the party structure.
Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has publicly accused Wike of working to undermine him, with references to intimidation, smear campaigns, and broader PDP turmoil. Wike has responded with derision and counter-attacks.
Wike is also slinging mud with Ohanaeze Ndigbo President-General John Azuta-Mbata. In response to Azuta-Mbata’s caution that “there is only one governor in Rivers State,” Wike characterized the former senator as a worthless, opportunistic local champion who was a “senator for eight years but there is nothing you can say you did for your people.”