Wike Turns Abuja Road Inauguration Into Political Attack On David Mark, ADC

FEDERAL Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike transformed Thursday’s Inauguration of the new Jahi-Gwarimpa interchange into a blistering political showdown, taking aim at former Senate President David Mark and the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The Minister used the inauguration of the interchange, part of President Bola Tinubu’s third-anniversary project rollout in Abuja, to launch a series of personal jabs at Mark, who served as Senate President for eight uninterrupted years under the Peoples Democratic Party.

Wike disclosed that he had signed the Certificate of Occupancy for David Mark, though he did not elaborate, instead deploying the revelation as a political barb.

He also seized on an ADC press release which stated that “we are not going to eat through the road”, spinning it as an admission that the Tinubu administration had “done very, very well” on road infrastructure.

“Without road, you cannot go to hospital, school, or farm. Road is the bedrock, the engine of development,” Wike declared.

Directly addressing Mark, Wike mocked the former Senate President over the notorious Akwanga-Makurdi road, which was awarded during Mark’s tenure yet remained impassable for years.

“People could not afford to go home to Makurdi” due to the dilapidated road, Wike said, adding that Mark had been “flying with a helicopter. How many poor people have helicopters?”

Under President Tinubu’s three years in office, the Makurdi-Otukpo road is now drivable, the Minister noted. “Mark is no longer using helicopters to go to Otukpo. He is now driving by road, done by this administration,” Wike said.

He contrasted the achievements, asking: “What happens in just one year? But in another four years, people should understand that when you have nothing to offer, tell people I have nothing to offer.”

Defending the broader FCT projects, Wike rejected claims that the administration was only building roads, pointing to water projects in satellite towns.

He cited the recent inauguration of the Karu water project and announced that the Bwari water project would be inaugurated on 14th July 2026.

He challenged Mark and the ADC to “show us in the budget where he made provision for water in satellite towns.”

The Minister noted that the interchange was awarded in May 2023, before Tinubu took over, with zero mobilisation.

He praised the President’s team for showing “political will to continue projects awarded by predecessors” because “government is a continuum.”

Expanding on the interchange’s impact, Wike revealed that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria living in Gwarimpa had texted him: “It is unbelievable that this project will be conceived and completed today.”

He said the road would remove stress for residents moving between Jahi, Gwarimpa and nearby districts.

President Tinubu, represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, praised Wike’s 31-day commissioning streak as “unprecedented” and delivering “quality projects that change lives.”

Backing Wike’s rebuttal of the ADC, Akpabio said: “If the Chairman of ADC had done the roads, we would have gone into other areas. But because he never did the roads, we have to start from somewhere.”

He framed the achievements ahead of the 2027 elections, stating: “Nigerians are watching. They are not fools. And they will reward President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appropriately.”

Akpabio noted that some FCT projects had been awarded 25 years ago, and others “two days to the end of President Buhari’s administration,” yet completed in barely three years under Tinubu.

The outburst reflects the deepening rift between Wike’s PDP faction and the opposition coalition rallying around the ADC, where David Mark is now a key figure and chairman of one faction.