2027: I’ll keep Atiku, Obi under pressure, says Wike

Nyesom Wike, Federal Capital Territory Minister,  has vowed to keep pressure on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.

The duo are the two leading opposition figures challenging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the nation’s number one job.

Wike is backing Tinubu’s re-election despite remaining a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said he was not interested in making his political opponents comfortable as the contest gathers momentum.

“My business is to make them not feel well all day, because they will be having high blood pressure. I guess that is my job, to make them have high blood pressure,” he said in Abuja.

The minister’s remarks underscored the increasingly combative nature of the 2027 contest, particularly as Atiku and Obi remain central figures in efforts to build an alternative political platform against the ruling party.

Wike, however, questioned the capacity of the opposition to mount a formidable challenge, pointing specifically to the prolonged crisis within the PDP.

He said the party would ordinarily have been regarded as Nigeria’s principal opposition force, but its internal divisions had prevented it from occupying that position effectively.

“Who is the opposition leader? Ordinarily, it would have been PDP, but because of the crisis we have had, you can’t see a formidable party that you will call the leading opposition party,” Wike said.

His comments came against the backdrop of his increasingly open support for Tinubu.

The development place Wike at odds with Atiku, who is now seeking the presidency on the platform of the African Democratic Congress.

Obi, who contested the 2023 presidential election on the Labour Party platform, is also positioning himself for another presidential bid in 2027.

Wike said the personal reaction of either politician to his attacks was irrelevant to him.

He argued that political contests were inherently adversarial.

“When you are having a contest with somebody, your business is not to make him feel well. Your business is to make sure that you beat him thoroughly,” he said.

The former Rivers State governor has recently intensified his criticism of Atiku, particularly over the former vice-president’s pledge to restore petrol subsidy if elected president.

Wike had described Atiku as “confused” over the promise.

He said that the presidential contest could drive politicians to make whatever promises they believe could secure electoral support.

His rivalry with Obi also predates the current 2027 alignment.

In October 2025, Wike dismissed Obi’s presidential ambition, referring to him as a “social media presidential candidate”, in another public attack that drew attention to the growing hostility between the two politicians.

Wike’s latest comments suggest that his role in the 2027 political contest will extend beyond his responsibilities as FCT minister, with the former governor openly positioning himself as a campaigner against opposition presidential contenders.

He said he would not hesitate to intensify his political attacks if he believed Atiku and Obi were already under pressure.

“In fact, if I knew how they feel now, I would add more crises for them,” Wike said.

The remark captures how far Wike’s relationship with Atiku has travelled since their 2022 PDP battle and how his once more cordial posture towards Obi has evolved into another front in his political offensive.