Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has labelled former Vice President Atiku Abubakar a “voodoo economist” over what he described as his changing position on fuel subsidy, while declaring that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains the only leading candidate ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Wike made the remarks on Thursday while speaking to journalists during an inspection tour of key infrastructure projects in Abuja.
The FCT Minister also claimed that the opposition lacked the unity and cohesion required to challenge the ruling government in the 2027 election.
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He argued that having political parties field candidates did not automatically amount to a strong opposition, insisting that a credible opposition must be united around the objective of offering an alternative government.
“They have only one leading candidate, and that’s Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I have told people this would be the easiest election.
“I say so because we have no opposition. No opposition is united to say, ‘Really, we want to remove this government in power.’
“That’s why I say that 2027 is gone—it’s gone because you don’t have an opposition that wants to wrestle power from the government,” he said.
Wike, who was critical of Atiku’s economic policy positions, questioned the former vice president’s stance on fuel subsidy.
“For Atiku, who is confused, who acts like a voodoo economist, Atiku will say anything just to be president.
“This was a man in 2022 who said he was going to remove the fuel subsidy because it was a fraud.
“Now, in 2026, he says he was not going to remove the fuel subsidy. Is he going back to the fraud which he alleged that fuel subsidy was?” Wike questioned.
The minister also argued that changes in Nigeria’s petroleum industry had made the return of a broad fuel subsidy regime impractical.
He said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had been commercialised under the Petroleum Industry Act and no longer operated as the sole importer or manager of refined petroleum products.
Wike further questioned how the government would subsidise petrol produced by private refineries, including the Dangote Refinery.
“Is he going to give fuel subsidy in the Dangote Refinery? The fuel produced by Dangote Refinery, it’s not going to be possible. Tell people the simple truth,” he added.
The FCT Minister commended President Tinubu for ending the fuel subsidy regime, saying the resulting increase in government revenues had boosted allocations to the federal, state and local governments.
He argued that without the reform, the country would have continued to face challenges including industrial strikes, delays in salary payments and unpaid pensions.
Wike, however, urged Nigerians to hold state governors and local government leaders accountable for the utilisation of increased allocations and demand that the funds be channelled towards improving the welfare of citizens.