Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, has delivered a subtle but stinging response to the repeated public attacks from the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, saying the former Rivers State governor appeared healthier and happier when they worked together earlier in their political careers. Obi made the remark during an appearance on the online talk show 90 Minutes Africa, where he was asked to react to Wike's recent comments about him and his presidential ambition.
Obi and Wike crossed paths between 2011 and 2014, when Obi was the governor of Anambra State and Wike served as the Minister of State for Education. During that period, Wike visited Anambra to inspect and commission educational projects executed by the Obi administration, including renovated secondary schools. The two men were politically aligned, and their relationship was cordial. But that was then. Ahead of the 2023 general election, their paths diverged sharply. Obi left the Peoples Democratic Party for the Labour Party, where he emerged as the presidential candidate, while Wike remained in the PDP and became one of the leaders of the G-5 governors who worked against the party's presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. Wike later threw his weight behind President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, a decision that has kept him in the federal cabinet as the FCT minister.
Since then, Wike has taken repeated public swipes at Obi. He has described Obi as a "social media presidential candidate", accused him of avoiding difficult governance challenges, and dismissed his presidential ambition as one that would never materialise. In recent weeks, Wike has also expressed fears that he could become a target of opposition politicians if Tinubu loses the 2027 presidential election, naming Obi and Atiku as the people he believes would come after him. "I will be the first politician to suffer the consequences should former Vice President Atiku Abubakar or Peter Obi defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election," Wike said, adding that he was not a threat but was concerned about his political future.
Obi's response was calm, measured, and devastating in its implications. "Well, if you look at the pictures of Mr Wike when we were moving together, you can see how healthy he is and looking very well. So, that means when we were together, he was a much, much happier person and enjoyed himself," Obi said. He was careful to add that he had nothing against Wike. "Let me assure you, I don't have anything against Mr Wike. He remains a friend and everything," he said. But then he delivered the line that has since dominated social media discourse: "Sometimes, you can have too much money and everything, but you don't have happiness."
Obi's remarks were interpreted by some as an implied suggestion that Wike might currently be unwell, but Obi pushed back on that reading directly. "No, no, no, no. I'm not saying it. So I didn't say so. I didn't say so," he clarified, stressing that his observation was about happiness rather than health. He also addressed a comment he said had been relayed to him, attributed to Wike, suggesting the minister would go after Obi first if he became president. "Someone even told me that Wike said if I became president, he would be the first person I would come after," Obi said. "But I'm not campaigning to become president to start pursuing people. I want to go into office to focus on tomorrow, not chase people around."
The exchange has added another layer to the already complex and often contradictory political relationship between the two men. Obi and Wike were once political allies, united by their shared membership of the PDP and their mutual opposition to the All Progressives Congress. But their relationship fractured during the 2023 election cycle, when Wike worked to undermine Obi's presidential bid in favour of Tinubu. Obi's loyalists have accused Wike of betrayal, while Wike has insisted that Obi's camp has been fighting him and that he refused to support Obi because he did not believe in his candidacy. The bitterness has simmered for years, and Wike's latest attacks on Obi, combined with Obi's reflective response, have brought the feud back into the public eye.
Wike's fears about being targeted if Obi wins in 2027 are not unfounded. He played a pivotal role in the political manoeuvres that helped Tinubu secure victory in 2023, and his decision to serve in the APC-led federal government while remaining a member of the PDP has made him a controversial figure in opposition circles. Obi's assurance that he has no plans to pursue political opponents is a direct response to those fears, but it also serves as a reminder that Obi's campaign is built on a promise of a new kind of politics, one that focuses on addressing Nigeria's problems rather than settling old scores.
For now, Wike has not issued a public response to Obi's latest remarks. The FCT minister has been busy with his own political battles, including his recent declaration that he will not help politicians win elections in their respective states and his insistence that his priority for the 2027 elections is to mobilise support for Tinubu's re-election. But Obi's comments have struck a chord with Nigerians who have watched the two men trade barbs for years. The image of Wike as a happier, healthier man when he was working with Obi, rather than fighting him, is a powerful one. It suggests that the political battles of the present have taken a toll not just on the relationship between the two men, but on the individuals themselves. Obi's closing observation, that having too much money does not guarantee happiness, is a reflection that many Nigerians will find both poignant and pointed. As the 2027 elections approach, the relationship between Obi and Wike is likely to remain a source of political drama and public fascination.
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