Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has fired back at comments made by Bode George, a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). George had claimed the party gave Wike national recognition, but Wike was not impressed by the statement.
Speaking during his monthly media briefing in Abuja, Wike noted that he worked hard to give the PDP real strength and relevance, both at the state and national levels. He said he played a major role in helping the party secure victories in elections, something Bode George was never able to do in his home state of Lagos.
“If not for presidential intervention, people said heaven would come down – I can’t pay and even then can’t pay because it’s not in my name,” Wike stated, referring to the controversy over unpaid ground rent that led to the temporary closure of the PDP’s National Secretariat in Abuja.
The FCT Minister criticized George’s comments and suggested that the elder statesman had outlived his relevance in the political space. “If an old man has no job, Bode George should sit in his house and read newspapers,” he said.
Wike admitted that the PDP played a part in raising his national profile but stressed that recognition alone doesn’t help a political party win elections. “Bode George said PDP made me by giving me a national name – I agree, but the party can’t make you; you are the one who will make the party win elections,” he added.
He went on to question George’s contributions to the PDP in Lagos, asking if the party had ever risen to power in the state under his leadership. “Ask Bode George who PDP made popular in Lagos since 1999? Then you are talking to me, who has labored and campaigned for the party to be the major party at the state and national level,” Wike said.
