Christian genocide allegation politically motivated — Wike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has accused opposition leaders of orchestrating the Christian genocide allegation against President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Wike alleged that the opposition was spreading the narrative to divide Nigerians because they know they cannot defeat President Tinubu in the 2027 election.

According to him, the allegation, which has gained international traction and even caught the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, was politically motivated and intended to destabilise the government.

“In 2015 under Jonathan, people capitalised on this kind of things to get power,” Wike said.

When asked if he believed the opposition was responsible for the Christian genocide allegation, he replied, “It’s very obvious.”

Wike explained that the opposition had grown desperate due to what he described as the “collapse” of their political structure.

“The problem we have today is that, by Mr President’s nature of politics, you can see the collapse of the opposition,” he said.

He further accused some politicians of using religion as a tool to create division and weaken national unity ahead of the next general election.

“There are so many undercurrents going on. The opposition has seen that, with the way it is, no party is prepared to challenge the President’s return to power. What do we do? Should we allow him to just go in like that without challenges? We must do something,” he said.

“And one of it is to bring up something that will divide the country. This is politics taken too far,” he added.

Wike’s comments come amid rising diplomatic tension between Nigeria and the United States following Trump’s threat of possible military action over alleged killings of Christians in Nigeria.