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African Democratic Congress (ADC) has sharply rebuked the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for his aggressive dismissal of Peter Obi’s recent visit to a dilapidated Abuja public school, effectively turning a spotlight on the decaying state of public infrastructure in the nation’s capital.
ADC’s criticism provides a compelling frame for the political spat, arguing that Wike’s reaction was an exercise in ego defense and political grandstanding rather than a display of responsible governance.
The core of the ADC’s statement is a powerful assertion: true leadership corrects decay; it does not fight the citizen who points it out.
The controversy began when Peter Obi, accompanied by the ADC chairmanship candidate for the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), visited an FCT primary school lacking basic amenities like chairs and functional toilets, describing the rot as a “national disgrace.”
Wike responded with characteristic ferocity, accusing Obi of merely playing politics, seeking media attention, and challenging the former Anambra governor’s eight-year record against his own two years in the FCT.
The ADC’s analysis cuts through Wike’s combative rhetoric by highlighting the substance of the issue versus the personality clash.
They assert that Obi’s observation was “simple and factual” and should have immediately triggered corrective action from the FCT administration.
Instead, Wike’s aggressive verbal counter-attack—dubbing Obi a “social media president”—is seen by the ADC as proof that the minister is more invested in verbal combat and maintaining a narrative of performance than in addressing the tangible suffering of Abuja’s most vulnerable children.
This political skirmish, according to the ADC, is a distraction from the reality that despite billions spent on visible infrastructure projects, the fundamental indices of human development, such as public education, remain neglected.
The party suggests that an administration should possess the “thick skin and restraint” to accept criticism, especially when it concerns the deplorable conditions of a public facility in its jurisdiction.
By immediately escalating the matter into a personal feud and an unfavorable comparison of gubernatorial records, Wike inadvertently reinforced the criticism that his focus is on his personal political stature rather than effective service delivery.
Ultimately, the ADC’s stance repositions the debate away from the political rivalry between Wike and Obi and back onto the critical need for governance, dignity, and accountability in the FCT.
Their condemnation suggests that Abuja needs a “builder, not a brawler,” demanding that the FCT Minister channel his evident energy into fixing schools without toilets instead of engaging in what they term as “gossip” and noise.
The incident thus serves as a microcosm of Nigerian politics, where issues of genuine public concern are often quickly consumed by the relentless pursuit of political point-scoring.
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