By Abiola Olawale
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has slammed the Nigerian opposition for what he described as the politicization of the recent United States designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC).
Wike, a former Governor of Rivers State, claimed that the opposition parties are leveraging the classification for narrow political gain rather than focusing on a constructive, unified national response.
The Minister stated this during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today, on Monday.
According to him, the narrative being circulated is politically motivated.
He said the claims suggesting that the Tinubu administration is enabling the killing of Christians are false, adding that those pushing the story are trying to destabilise the country ahead of the 2027 election cycle.
Wike said: “Nobody will be happy for the death of anybody, whether a Christian or a Muslim.
“No right–thinking person would say they are happy that people are being killed. Not the President I know.
“The former Chief of Defence was a Christian. The Secretary to the Government is a Christian. How can anybody say that this government will support the killing of our own people? It is politics taken too far.
“I don’t know where the Trump administration is getting the information. But nobody can say this government is stoking the fire so that a particular religion is being violated. That is not correct.”
When asked if the ongoing CPC controversy was part of a political script to weaken Tinubu ahead of 2027, Wike responded affirmatively.
He said, “Yes, it is a plot.”
Wike said the opposition knows it is not prepared to defeat the President, adding that the strategy now being deployed is to “divide the country through religion”.
He said, “The opposition today has seen that no party is ready or prepared to challenge the President’s return to power. What do we do? Bring up something that can divide the country.
“Terrorists are killing Christians. Terrorists are killing Muslims. Terrorists are killing non-believers. Nobody should be happy.”
