*Says FCT Security Council Has Approved Mapping of Areas Where Okada and Keke Will Be Banned
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The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has criticised Cardinal John Onaiyekan over his assessment of the Tinubu administration, announced that the FCT Administration is considering banning commercial motorcycles and tricycles in parts of Abuja on security grounds, and said the political crisis in Rivers State denied Governor Siminalayi Fubara the opportunity to seek a second term.
He spoke during the August edition of his monthly media chat, aired live on Tuesday.
Reacting to the controversy surrounding the meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, Wike began by affirming the right of religious leaders to criticise government.
“I have always said this, particularly to religious leaders. And I’m honest in this matter. I am not against comments about government, because if comments are not made about government, government may not be able to know areas where they should concentrate or focus,” he stated.
“Therefore, government is available to receive comments. But when comments are made by a particular section consistently, government becomes, not even government, even individuals, because they are careful,” Wike said.
Wike then turned to the Cardinal directly.
“If you are a religious leader, and it is perceived or seen you are taking a side, which is very clear, it becomes difficult for people to begin to see those comments as being helpful or real,” he stated.
“I am aware of the position of Cardinal Onaiyekan. All of us know; it’s not hidden. His position, who he supported. Everybody knows that,” Wike said.
When the interviewer responded that she did not know whom the Cardinal supported, Wike maintained that the cleric’s disposition towards the government had been consistently negative.
“You don’t every time say things are bad, things are bad. Nobody has heard him say one day government has done this well,” he stated.
Wike set out what he considered the balanced approach.
“The point I’m trying to make is that, as a leader, commend government when government has done well on some areas. Criticise government that, ‘Look, yes, you have done this well, this well, this well. But we think that you should look into these other areas,'” he said.
“But if your comments are every time nothing positive, then government must worry about you. Government will begin to think that you are merely criticising because you’re opposed to the government,” Wike stated.
Wike rejected outright any suggestion that religious leaders were politically neutral in the last general election.
“Don’t tell me non-partisans, no. Don’t tell me that. You know what happened in the 2023 election. People took sides, religious leaders took sides. It was very open,” he stated.
“It would look, it would be stupid to sit here for anybody to tell me this person is impartial. No. We know ourselves in this country. We know who belongs to where,” Wike said.
Asked what religious leaders stood to gain from taking political positions, he replied: “Who did they support in 2023? It was very obvious. They made it clear. What I’m saying, there’s nothing wrong in that. But the point I’m saying is that you cannot be seen consistently holding just one view about the government.”
Wike’s remarks come days after a public disagreement between the Presidency and the Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja over the state of the nation.
The controversy followed Cardinal Onaiyekan’s interview on Arise Television after a closed-door meeting between President Tinubu and a delegation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria on July 28. The Cardinal said the bishops raised concerns over worsening economic hardship, insecurity and governance, and that the President disagreed with their assessment and insisted the country was making progress.
Presidential aides Temitope Ajayi and Daniel Bwala defended the President’s position, accusing the bishops of presenting only one perspective and suggesting that some church leaders had taken partisan positions during the 2023 election.
ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar condemned the Presidency’s criticism and demanded an apology to the Cardinal and the Catholic Church, accusing the administration of attempting to discredit respected religious leaders instead of addressing the issues raised about the economy, security and governance.
Wike disclosed that the FCT Administration is considering banning commercial motorcycles, popularly known as Okada, and tricycles, known as Keke Napep, in parts of Abuja over security concerns.
“Apart from this, as you know, just this morning, I signed approval after we had a Security Council meeting, where we agreed that, beyond constituting a nuisance, they have become a security threat,” he stated.
“From our security reports, bandits, when they don’t act, they use motorcycles,” Wike said.
The Minister said a territory-wide ban would be impractical.
“I’ve told the security agencies to map out areas where we do not need the Keke Napep and the motorcycle, but it will be difficult for you to ban them in the entire Abuja,” he stated.
“But particularly, it is necessary within the city not to allow Keke Napep and the Okada. They are working that out,” Wike said.
He also disclosed that he had approved the release of logistics to support the planned security operations.
Speaking on the recurring presence of beggars in Abuja, Wike said removal efforts had produced only temporary results.
“Even the destitute beggars are all over the place, and each time we take them out, they come in again. Each time you take them out, they come in again,” he stated.
“And people say, ‘Oh, why not provide where they will be staying, feed them?’ How will we continue to be doing that? It means you are encouraging people to leave from Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger and Kaduna. How can you fund that? It is not possible,” Wike said.
“So, we try to take them back to where they are coming from, but the next month, you see them back,” he stated.
He attributed the difficulty partly to geography: “You know Abuja is in the centre, surrounded by four states. So, it’s a big problem, but we’ll do the best we can.”
Reflecting on his relationship with his estranged successor, Wike said he had repeatedly advised Fubara not to abandon the political structure that produced him.
“I said, look, don’t derail. I came as governor, I had crisis. When I came as governor, there was nothing. They didn’t even relocate the Government House,” Wike stated.
He recounted the state of the office he inherited: “When I came, I had to borrow vehicles from the former governor of Ondo, Mimiko, these parade vehicles. Nobody kept any vehicle; I didn’t have one vehicle.”
“But before I left as governor, I packed out from Government House one and a half years before. I renovated Government House. I bought vehicles for the governor, the deputy governor and the governor’s wife. I did that,” he said.
“Somebody had laid a foundation. Look, this is where I stopped. If you continue this way, our dream is to be able to compete with Lagos. What is wrong with that?” Wike stated.
Wike alleged that Fubara’s original opponents became his closest advisers.
“Somebody comes, and that’s why you have to be careful. Those who didn’t want you to be governor now became your friends. Obviously, they will destroy you, thinking that coming closer to you is to fight us,” he stated.
“At the end of the fight, I have not lost anything. What have I lost? Nothing. But you have lost. Your intention was to go for a second term, is it not correct? And you are not going,” Wike said.
When asked whether he still loved Fubara, Wike replied: “If I don’t love him, why would we support him? That’s the point I’m making.”
Wike said reconciliation was attempted but failed.
“There was a time we all thought, we all agreed, and said, ‘Look, can we allow bygones to be bygones?’ But something fundamental came up in politics,” he stated.
“They said, ‘Look, if you allow this now, there are those who are here who want to see that we are no longer politically relevant,'” Wike said.
Wike alleged that external interests sought control of the state for financial gain.
“There are external forces who want to hijack Rivers State. You don’t allow them to hijack Rivers State. There are those who see Rivers State as a cash cow,” he stated.
“I can tell you so many things happened. There are people, even some Senior Advocates of Nigeria, who you would never believe can play that kind of role, who were virtually living with us in government,” Wike said.
He alleged that some of those individuals later advised Fubara to resist his political camp.
“When this thing happened, they were so bitter that they started giving the governor wrong advice: ‘Don’t worry, the law says this, the law didn’t say this,'” he stated.
“They were sending them aircraft, then they would relax in the jet. To them, they were king. So, for him to continue to be there, they would exert that kind of influence. We said no, this cash cow must end now. You won’t have it again. Take as much as you can, but you have to stop,” Wike said.
The disagreement between Wike and Fubara began shortly after Fubara assumed office in 2023, when Wike accused his successor of moving too quickly to dismantle the political structure that produced him and to build an independent base within the first 100 days.
The power struggle escalated into open conflict involving the Rivers State House of Assembly, repeated impeachment threats against the governor by lawmakers loyal to Wike, and a six-month state of emergency declared by President Tinubu in March 2025 that temporarily suspended Fubara and the legislature.
After his reinstatement, Fubara defected from the PDP to the APC, citing the need to express gratitude to Tinubu for intervening in the crisis.
He later obtained nomination forms to contest the APC governorship primaries for a second term but withdrew in May 2026, a step Wike and others linked to earlier peace understandings in which the governor agreed not to seek re-election in exchange for the dropping of impeachment moves.
In July 2026, Fubara publicly declared that he had returned to the political family that brought him to power, joined the Wike-led Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party alliance backing Tinubu, and endorsed the coalition’s preferred governorship candidate.
The media chat was aired live on Tuesday.
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