President Bola Tinubu has revealed that he threatened the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, that he could lose his position if his policies in Abuja did not favour the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking on Sunday when Wike led FCT residents on a Sallah visit to the State House, Tinubu commended the minister’s efforts in transforming the capital but noted that certain obstacles needed to be removed to ensure smooth progress.
One such challenge was the inclusion of the FCT under the Treasury Single Account (TSA), which Wike requested to be removed. Tinubu recalled that Wike approached him with the appeal.
“I remember the day Nyesom Wike came to me and said, ‘Please take us out of this problem of TSA so that I can do more work and achieve more’,” Tinubu said.
He added that he asked Wike to outline his plans and then jokingly questioned whether the changes would benefit the APC politically.
“I said, ‘Okay, show me what you’re about to do,’ and he presented his thinking and his belief, and I threw in my political jibe. I said, ‘Will that give me any opportunity for my party to win an election in the FCT?’” the president added.
“I said, ‘I know where you’re coming from. Your own party or my party? Because if this thing goes too much in your own favour, you will lose your job, and he said, ‘Okay, we will settle that, my oga,’ and I moved ahead, and everything started changing rapidly,” Tinubu said.
He credited the removal of the FCT from the TSA for accelerating development and improving governance in the capital.
