Former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has launched a scathing attack on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, calling him a traitor who is working with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to destroy the PDP from within.
Atiku’s reaction comes after Wike, during a media chat in Abuja on Friday, dismissed ongoing talks of forming a coalition to unseat President Bola Tinubu, describing the move as insincere and driven by selfish ambitions. He accused Atiku and other party leaders of neglecting the internal crises within the PDP and being more focused on grabbing power than building the party.
In a sharp response through his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku said Wike lacks the moral standing to speak on integrity and sincerity. He accused the former Rivers State governor of betraying the PDP and working actively to sabotage its progress.
“Wike is not in a position to talk about sincerity. This is a man who betrayed his party and is working with the APC to destroy and undermine his own party and the interests of Nigerians. So, what does he know about sincerity? Nothing,” Atiku said in a statement to The Punch.
He further criticized Wike for allegedly trying to control political affairs in Rivers State from Abuja, adding that the minister has been working to get the state governor suspended in a bid to assert dominance.
“If he wants to speak on sincerity, let him talk to his principal, Tinubu — an absentee President running the government from the Presidential Villa’s WhatsApp group,” Atiku quipped. “Wike should be sincere to President Tinubu and return home to do his job.”
On the issue of the coalition, Atiku insisted that the movement is made up of genuine Nigerians determined to end what he described as the APC’s “reckless, irresponsible, and clueless” governance. He emphasized that the coalition is about saving Nigeria, not personal ambition.
“This is about Nigeria. Atiku Abubakar and others involved are just tools to an end. Nigerians want to reclaim their country, and the coalition offers them that vehicle,” he said.
