Former Vice President and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, on Monday, accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, NyesomWike, for turning the church pulpit into a political campaign propaganda, warning that his day of reckoning was no longer far.
However, in what many had described as a significant political momentum, the ADC website crashed three times in just 48 hours, overwhelmed by a surge of Nigerians seeking information and membership following the recent opposition coalition.
This was as the ADC raised the alarm over an alleged plot by elements within the Tinubu administration to undermine and destabilise the growing opposition coalition.
In another development, a former Secretary to the Government of Federation, David Babachir Lawal, has announced his decision to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC).
At the same time, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has cautioned leaders of the coalition that any attempt to exclude any region from participating in the contest to select a presidential candidate for the coalition would result in a stillbirth for the movement.
Meanwhile, chairman of the APC, Ebonyi State chapter, Chief Stanley Okoro-Emegha, has said the opposition coalition parties would not make any inroad in the state because of the popularity and performance of Governor Francis Nwifuru of the state.
Similarly, some youths in Ondo State, have expressed pessimism over the formation of the ADC, stating that the move would end up in fiasco.
However, Atiku described what Wike did as a desecration of the altar of God as well as an abomination in the sight of man and God.
Wike had Sunday at the St James Anglican Church in Asokoro, Abuja, turned the church’s pulpit into a campaign soapbox.
But reacting, Atiku said, ‘’The land-grabbing Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, staggered into church not to seek forgiveness but to turn the altar of the Most High into a political soapbox.’’
According to Atiku, in a statement by his Media Aide, Paul Ibeh, ‘’Now, let me be clear: there’s absolutely nothing wrong with going to Church. I, too, was in the sanctuary today — lifting my voice in thanksgiving to Jehovah for the safe delivery of the Coalition.
“A coalition that W(h)I(s)KE(y), the Herod of the FCT, tried — unsuccessfully — to abort before it saw the light of day. But God prevailed. The coalition lives.
‘’What is utterly abominable, however, is the desecration of the sacred altar with partisan bile, as Wike shamelessly did today. It is written: “Take these things away! Stop making My Father’s house a place of commerce!” (John 2:16 AMP).
“But in Wike’s hands, the house of God became a theatre of lies, vengeance, and drunken arrogance. Perhaps he should have used the moment to repent for the impunity with which he has been allocating prime Abuja lands to his sons, in what now resembles a feudal monarchy masquerading as public service.
“According to credible reports by an online newspaper, this self-proclaimed democrat of a government by the father, for the sons, had first denied these transactions. Now, cornered by truth, he has resorted to intimidation — ordering the arrest of a civil servant from the FCDA for allegedly leaking documents that exposed his abuse of office.
‘’As a Christian, Wike will be allocated a burial plot of an average of 8 feet long and 2.5 feet wide when he finishes his race like all mortals. It matters less if he is rich (but of unknown source of income) or poor. The space is not even big enough to accommodate his Rolls Royce.
‘’Has Wike forgotten so soon how he came to Atiku Abubakar with Makinde and others to beg to be handed the Vice Presidential ticket in 2023? He also lobbied friends and associates of the former Vice President for the same.
‘’Selective amnesia must be a side effect of alcohol because Wike clearly forgets that Atiku trounced him twice — first in Port Harcourt in 2019 and again in Abuja in 2023.
‘’If he still thirsts for humiliation, he should prepare for a third and final defeat — this time, right at his doorstep in Obio-Akpor.
‘’Wike should remember: God is not mocked. The altar is not a podium for propaganda. And the day of reckoning is not far off,’’ he concluded.
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