By Our Correspondent <\/p>\n
As preparations for 2027 election draw close,Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barr Nyesom Wike has brushed off reports of a supposed partnership between the Peoples Democratic Party and the Allied Peoples Movement, calling the story a \u201cPolitical 419\u201d scam.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters while inspecting road construction in Gomani-Yangoje, Kwali Area Council, Abuja on Thursday, Wike accused Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde of misleading the public with claims that PDP had teamed up with APM for the 2027 elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I call people fraudulent, some think I\u2019m joking. This is exactly the kind of 419 I mean,\u201d Wike said.<\/p>\n
He stressed that neither the PDP leadership nor the Independent National Electoral Commission had any knowledge of such a deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no coalition between the PDP and the Allied Peoples Movement, or any other party for that matter. INEC is aware that no PDP-APM alliance exists,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
Wike pointed to the party\u2019s ongoing internal processes, including candidate screenings, as proof that the PDP was operating independently and had not entered any coalition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe PDP has already put forward a presidential candidate. Wait and see whose name goes to INEC, then you\u2019ll know if there\u2019s anything like a PDP-APM arrangement,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The minister alleged that Makinde\u2019s real motive was to use APM to push his own presidential bid.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s actually happening is that Seyi Makinde has moved to APM to chase his presidential ambition, which is already going nowhere,\u201d Wike claimed.<\/p>\n
He also said Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed had never mentioned any PDP-APM alliance, arguing the story was simply made up.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate. We know this has been his plan all along, but he won\u2019t get the PDP ticket,\u201d Wike said.<\/p>\n
On comments attributed to the Rivers State governor about Wike\u2019s ties to the All Progressives Congress, the minister pushed back.<\/p>\n
\u201cPity for what? Why talk about problems when the man himself hasn\u2019t said he has any? He\u2019s told you he\u2019s still in APC. So what\u2019s the issue?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Wike added that any issues around the governor\u2019s position in APC were for that party to handle internally.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk me about PDP and I\u2019ll respond. It\u2019s not my place to speak on what\u2019s happening in another party. If there\u2019s a problem there, it\u2019s their internal matter,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n
Wike expressed satisfaction with the ongoing road project linking Gomani to Yangoji in Abuja, saying the development aligns with President Bola Tinubu\u2019s directive to spread infrastructure beyond city centres and open up satellite communities under the Renewed Hope Agenda. <\/p>\n
The Minister said, the Tinubu administration deliberately prioritised rural and satellite town development to curb rural-urban migration and improve connectivity across the FCT.<\/p>\n
According to him, the road project forms part of a broader infrastructure drive that began with the A2-Pai road, which was inaugurated by President Tinubu during his second year in office.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember that when we came on board, one of the directives of Mr. President is that we should not concentrate development, we should not concentrate provision of infrastructure just only in the cities. We must open up all the satellite towns in order to discourage rural-urban migration,\u201d Wike said.<\/p>\n
He explained that the ongoing 13-kilometre Gomani-Yangoji road project was awarded to Zeberced Construction Company, the same contractor that handled the A2-Pai road.<\/p>\n
The minister noted that work on the project had reached an advanced stage, with the bridge already launched and drainage works nearing completion.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what we\u2019ve seen, you can attest to the fact that we are very much encouraged. Luckily, the bridge had been launched, which we are standing on, the drainages have been done, optimized in 90 to 95 per cent. They are now building the streetlight pillars,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
Wike disclosed that the road would be among projects scheduled for inauguration during activities marking President Tinubu\u2019s third anniversary in office this June.<\/p>\n
He commended Zeberced Construction Company for delivering quality work and adhering to agreed timelines.
\n\u201cI commend, as usual, the contractor, Zeberced, not only for providing quality jobs, but also keeping to the timeline, making promises that we will inaugurate this road this June. I\u2019m happy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The minister also praised the management and staff of the company for their commitment to ensuring the completion of the project.<\/p>\n
He added that the President would be pleased to see infrastructure extending to underserved communities across the territory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that when Mr. President comes here, it will be a thing of joy for him to see that development is passing through all the satellite towns,\u201d Wike added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Our Correspondent As preparations for 2027 election draw close,Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barr Nyesom Wike has brushed off reports of a supposed partnership between the Peoples Democratic Party and the Allied Peoples Movement, calling the story a \u201cPolitical 419\u201d scam. Speaking to reporters while inspecting road construction in Gomani-Yangoje, Kwali Area Council, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13621"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13623,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13621\/revisions\/13623"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}