Nyesom Wike has finally said the quiet part out loud — and in doing so, exposed the deep anxiety behind his once-feared political swagger. Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting in Oyigbo Local Government Area on January 5, 2026, the Federal Capital Territory Minister openly confessed that the All Progressives Congress has become a direct threat to him in Rivers State, a stunning admission from a man who has spent nearly a decade branding himself as the untouchable godfather of Rivers politics.
“The APC is a threat to me in Rivers State. I can’t keep quiet anymore,” Wike declared on video, his words now circulating widely across social media. It was not an opposition figure speaking. It was a serving minister in an APC-led federal government, still officially a PDP member, publicly lamenting that the ruling party’s empowerment programmes are weakening his personal hold on home state. Rarely has political hypocrisy been so naked.
This was not a slip. It was a confession of fear.
For years, Wike ruled Rivers through intimidation, patronage, and brute political force — first as governor from 2015 to 2023, then as a self-appointed overlord determined to control his successor. He boasted openly of “owning” political structures, deciding who rises and who falls, and crushing dissent without remorse. Today, that same man is publicly alarmed because federal programmes under President Bola Tinubu are winning grassroots support in Rivers without his permission.
The irony is devastating. Wike played a central role in delivering Rivers to Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election through political engineering, suppression, and elite deal-making. He crossed party lines, sabotaged his own PDP candidate, and was rewarded with one of the most powerful ministerial positions in the country. Yet now, when the APC begins to organically grow influence in Rivers — through empowerment, visibility, and federal presence — Wike cries foul.
His statement exposes the real motive behind the endless Rivers crisis: control, not governance.
Rivers State has been locked in paralysis for months — factional assemblies, impeachment threats, court battles, withheld local government funds, stalled projects, and rising insecurity. At the centre of it all is Wike’s refusal to let go of power after office. His successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, has become the target of relentless destabilisation simply for asserting independence. Wike’s outburst now confirms what many already knew: the fight was never about law, constitution, or party loyalty — it was about preserving a godfather empire now under threat.
What kind of minister complains that his own government’s success is undermining him? What kind of leader views empowerment of citizens as a danger? Wike’s logic is chillingly clear: power that does not flow through him is illegitimate. Influence he does not control is hostile. Progress he cannot weaponise is unacceptable.
This is not strength. This is political panic.
The image of the invincible Wike is cracking. The man who once thundered that he would “deal with anybody” now openly admits fear — fear that APC structures in Rivers are growing beyond his reach, fear that loyalty is shifting, fear that his grip is slipping. His godfather model, built on fear and dependency, is incompatible with a system where people benefit directly from governance rather than personal patronage.
For President Tinubu, this moment is a test. How long can one man serve as a PDP member, APC minister, Rivers godfather, and political arsonist without consequences? Wike’s public declaration places him in direct conflict with the ruling party’s growth in Rivers. At some point, the contradiction becomes unsustainable.
For the people of Rivers State, Wike’s cry changes nothing. They are exhausted by elite ego wars, tired of being used as bargaining chips, and desperate for stability, development, and peace. Empowerment that threatens a godfather is empowerment that finally serves the people.
History is unforgiving to political figures who mistake control for relevance. Wike’s words will be remembered — not as a warning, but as a turning point. The moment a man who built his legacy on fear admitted he was afraid.
The APC is not the real threat to Rivers. Godfatherism is. And Wike just confirmed it himself.
Credit: Insta Bullets
