The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has called members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) known liars.
Wike was reported to have accused the opposition parties of deceiving Nigerians with claims of political reform and democratic renewal.
The former Rivers State governor stated this on Monday at his monthly media briefing in Abuja.
Wike faulted opposition parties on what he described as internal contradictions and lack of credibility in their recently concluded primaries.
He mentioned the ADC and the NDC specifically and accused them of claiming moral high ground while fighting internal disputes.
He said parties that claim to be new and fresh have failed to hold credible internal elections without controversy.
Disputes in opposition parties recently have shown that the same problems they accuse the ruling party of have been found within their own structures, Wike said.
“They said they are the saviour that will come,” said the Minister. What’s now happened?
“NDC said we are democracy’s new face. “This kind of party is a party that hasn’t been polluted one day, is a party that God just brought from the womb,” ADC said.
“What’s happened? So foul. Look at what has transpired in the NDC. They can’t do a primary without protest, as little as they are.”
‘Nigerians Know You Liars Now’
The minister also referred to the complaints lodged in the ADC presidential primary, where some aspirants shunned the process.
“Look at ADC, which said it is a coalition to take over from APC to stop the distortion of democracy. What’s been going on?
“While the congress was going on, two presidential aspirants said, ‘we cannot believe that you will perpetrate this. We have charged this party with doing this. Now see what we do, see what we have done.
And so now, that tells you, who is deceiving whom? Who is coming to Nigeria to tell them lie that we are the new born baby, the messiahs of the time of Nigeria. That’s what we want to do.’
“Nigerians now know you’re all liars. They can’t be using us. “They’re not kidding us.
Wike stated that the opposition parties had not been able to prove that they were better than the older political parties.
“You claim PDP is a dead party. You’ve said here that APC is rotten. They cannot make Nigerian democracy. Just an average congress. You have three presidential aspirants, two said ‘this is rubbish, this is criminality of the highest order. Why are we complaining against another party?
Wike said, “My assessment is that from what I have seen, I prefer the old parties that are running. That is, they have even tested this environment. They have known what Nigerian culture is all about.
