Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has urged Nigerians to reject what he described as political gamblers who exploit public grievances and resort to deceit in their quest for power ahead of the 2027 general election.

Wike questioned the sincerity of politicians who, according to him, only began identifying with the downtrodden and visiting internally displaced persons (IDP) camps to celebrate their birthdays after deciding to pursue the presidency.

The minister spoke on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at the inaugural Idoma Hall of Fame induction ceremony, held as part of the Idoma Centenary Plus celebration.

Delivering a keynote address titled “People, Politics and Power Play in Nigeria: The Agitation for Equity and Fairness,” Wike urged Nigerians to look beyond ethnic sentiments, political calculations and the struggle for power when assessing the suitability of political leaders.

He warned that politicians should not be allowed to exploit grievances over marginalisation to advance personal ambitions, insisting that leadership must be judged by competence, accountability, fairness and service delivery.

Wike urged citizens to scrutinise the records and intentions of political actors rather than allow ethnic loyalty or claims of entitlement to determine their political choices.

According to him, the agitation for equity and fairness must not become an avenue for political opportunism or merely a struggle to redistribute privileges among competing groups.

“One of the enduring difficulties of our political life is the tendency to convert public power into private possession,” he said.

The minister argued that when political office became a vehicle for personal enrichment, public resources were transformed into instruments of private gain, while sectional domination alienated citizens who felt excluded from governance.

He warned that Nigeria’s quest for fairness would remain unresolved if political actors focused solely on which ethnic group or region controlled power without addressing how that power was exercised.

“If one group replaces another at the table while the benefits remain fundamentally exclusionary, the occupants have changed, but the injustice has not,” he said.

Wike also challenged Nigerians to examine their own commitment to justice, warning against those who condemn marginalisation only when members of their communities are excluded from power.

“If we complain about marginalisation only when our own people are excluded, but become silent when others are marginalised after our people gain power, we are not opposing injustice; we are seeking access to its privileges,” he said.

He maintained that genuine fairness required defending justice even when doing so conflicted with one’s ethnic affiliation or political interests.

The FCT minister called for a political culture in which public office was treated as a public trust rather than an entitlement, adding that Nigeria’s diversity should strengthen national unity instead of becoming a basis for exclusion.

On the federal character principle enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, as amended, Wike said the provision was designed to promote national unity and prevent the domination of public institutions by a few states or sectional interests.

However, he cautioned that the pursuit of equitable representation should not undermine competence.

“A Nigerian should not be excluded from public office because of where he or she comes from; neither should competence become irrelevant once a candidate’s identity satisfies a representational expectation,” he said.

Wike further argued that political leadership should be assessed by the tangible benefits it delivers to citizens, rather than the ethnic or regional identities of those occupying positions of authority.

He listed employment, quality education, healthcare, infrastructure, electricity, security and economic opportunities among the key indicators of meaningful political inclusion.

According to him, appointing a prominent individual from a particular community to political office would mean little to residents who continued to experience unemployment, inadequate public services and economic hardship.

“The real measure of political inclusion is therefore not simply who occupies office, but what the exercise of that office produces for the people,” he said.

The minister noted that Nigeria had adopted several mechanisms to accommodate its diversity, including federalism, state creation, revenue allocation, zoning and rotational presidency. However, he stressed that these arrangements alone could not guarantee fairness.

He called for a political system that prioritised the common good and provided every Nigerian with a reasonable opportunity to participate in national life, irrespective of background.

Wike also cautioned against a zero-sum approach to politics in which the advancement of one community was perceived as the defeat of another, arguing that such a mindset threatened national unity.

He urged political leaders to build institutions that served the interests of the entire country rather than arrangements designed to benefit only their supporters or ethnic constituencies.

The event, organised in collaboration with Och’Idoma, formed part of the Idoma Centenary Plus celebration.

Wike commended the organisers for establishing the Idoma Hall of Fame to honour distinguished sons and daughters of the community, preserve its history and inspire future generations.