By Ismaila Jimoh, Abuja
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike has debunked claim in some quarters that he interfered with the recently held Area Councils elections which paved the way for the success of the candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Wike dismissed allegations that his presence at the few polling units he visited influenced the results, noting that his visits to about 10 out of 3,000 units were for observation purposes and not to tilt the process in favour of any candidate.
The Minister who stated this during a media parley in Abuja on noted that he met with the rural people upon assumption of office to solicit their support for the current administration, where he also promised massive infrastructure development to FCT in return.
“You must have heard me say agreement is agreement; if you do for me I do for you…every party will say we are going to give you good governance, we are going to provide infrastructure. I said if you vote for us, leave it for us to do our own part. Our own part is to provide infrastructure as we promised”, the Minister said.
He also announced that he would be touring the entire FCT Area Councils to thank the people for their support for President Tinubu, demonstrated in the results of the just concluded Area Councils polls.
The Minister said, “I was never in the ballot and I never came out to say vote for APC. All I said is, candidates supporting Mr. President are the candidates I will support…Are you telling me that because I visited 10 polling units out of 3000 polling units, that’s how it influenced the election and you lost”?
He noted that no provision in the law prevented him from moving about on election day, explaining that only candidates in the election were barred from doing so. He said, as chief security officer in charge of the FCT, he had a right to have a view of what was going on and wondered how that amounted to influencing the elections.
Wike who also responded to claims that the declaration of movement restrictions was a curfew designed to influence the polls, emphasized that all measures taken were approved by the Presidency to ensure the security and integrity of the democratic process.
He also denied that a curfew or public holiday was declared, pointing out that a work-free day was only granted prior to the election to allow residents to prepare, while movement was restricted strictly from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM on election day.
“As the Chief Security Officer of the FCT, it is my duty to safeguard lives and property”, Barr Wike said, adding that the restriction was based on security reports, as well as to curtail the influx of people from neighboring states and reduce the likelihood of violence during the elections.
“I never declared curfew; I never declared public holiday. I said by the approval of Mr. President. We had intelligence report and we didn’t want a situation of violence in the election. This is not the first time where government has come to say there will be restriction of movements during an election”, he explained
Addressing concerns regarding voter turnout, the Minister noted the disparity between urban and rural participation, saying that while the big men in urban centers often talk without coming out to vote, the rural areas—where the FCT Administration has focused its infrastructure projects—showed up en masse.
He further challenged the opposition’s narrative regarding disenfranchisement, stressing that mobilizing voters was the duty of political parties and candidates in the election, not the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) or the government.
“These people shouting every time that people didn’t come out, you are the one telling people that this government is not doing well. The only option you have is to mobilize people to come and vote against the government you have told the people is not doing well.
“Look at where Senator Ireti voted. Her polling unit where we thought you know the people, you can mobilize them, ADC had only two votes, APC had three votes, PDP had one vote. That is a Senator’s polling unit. You remember the candidate of ADC had said that this is not Obiakpor. Now the reality has dawned on them”, the Minister pointed out.
Comparing elections to an academic exam, the Minister noted that one needed to read in order to pass and stressed that the opposition failed to campaign adequately but expected a different result.
“You are going to school and you know exam will come in two, three months’ time. Nobody waits for exams to come before you know that you will prepare for the exams. So, it’s a process. You must attend classes; you must read to be prepared for the exams”, he noted.
