The Vicar of St James Anglican Church, Asokoro, Abuja, Ben Idume, has described President Tinubu as a visionary leader who appointed a former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, as a minister because he knew Wike would perform.
Idume stated this during the thanksgiving service for the completion of projects executed by the Federal Capital Territory Administration, led by Wike, who is the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
He said, “I will not fail to thank President Tinubu who appointed this man to be minister because.
“The President, himself, is a visionary president. He can see vision somehow. That was why he saw that this man (Wike) can do something.
“Tinubu can see vision, whether he closes his eyes or opens them.
“So, the President is a visionary president, so we thank him for making us happy in the FCT.”
The vicar said that, contrary to the opposition the former Rivers governor faced, he had proven his detractors wrong as an FCT minister from the southern part of Nigeria.
Idume said, “When he became a minister, some people said over their dead bodies, he would not be a minister. ‘How can a Christian be a minister? Have you ever heard it once? How can a southerner be a minister? Have you ever heard it? It can never be done.’
He, however, expressed optimism that Wike would do better before the end of his tenure as a minister, considering his performance when he was the governor of the oil-rich state for eight years.
“This church is thankful to God that a Christian minister, a southern minister, has come to rewrite the history of the Federal Capital Territory,” he added.
Wike was accompanied to the service by senior government officials and politicians.
Among them were the Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, a former governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, a former governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri; the suspended Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule; the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Samuel Anyanwu; and Senator Ifeanyi Ararume.
Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, backed Tinubu’s election in 2023 and was subsequently appointed as the minister of the FCT by the President in 2024.
Despite serving under ruling All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government, the former governor said he had no regret supporting Tinubu.
“I have no regrets, I have no apologies. If the opportunity comes I will do the same thing,” he said at a thanksgiving service in Ochigba organised by the PDP in the Ahoada East and West local government areas of the state.
He has also maintained at several fora that he remains loyal member of the PDP.
