Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has challenged APC governors questioning his political activities and support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, asking them to first account for the President’s performance in their respective states during the 2023 presidential election.
Wike, who took particular aim at Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, said the fact that Tinubu did not win Imo in 2023 despite the state being governed by an APC governor should raise questions about the governors’ opposition to his cross-party mobilisation for the President’s 2027 reelection.
The FCT minister spoke on Tuesday night during an appearance on Arise News Prime Time, where he defended his “Rainbow Coalition” and insisted that his political activities were known to Tinubu.
“There is nothing that I do that I don’t tell Mr. President,” he stated.
Wike, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said the coalition was established to mobilise support for Tinubu across party lines and was not an alliance with the APC or its governors.
He said there was no contradiction in politicians supporting Tinubu for president while retaining their party affiliations and backing their parties’ candidates in other elections.
Wike cited Imo State in challenging Uzodimma, saying Tinubu did not secure a significant share of the state’s presidential vote in 2023 despite the state being governed by an APC governor.
“Hope Uzodimma should be lucky that I’m not in the APC. Hope fears for nothing.
“When I look at the APC governors who held the press conference, I see some people who are smart but politically lazy. Hope Uzodinma was the governor of Imo State, yet President Tinubu could not secure 10% of the votes there.
“Hope in his own state, Imo state, he was Governor. President Tinubu didn’t get 10% votes in the 2023 elections, but he took two senators and Labour Party took one senator. Is he saying Imo people were confused, or were they not confused?
“The governors of Osun, Anambra and Abia States are supporting the President reelection. Won’t they still support the candidates of their parties in other elections? So where is the confusion?”
According to the official 2023 presidential election results, Tinubu polled 66,171 votes in Imo, while Labour Party candidate Peter Obi won the state with 352,904 votes.
Wike also dismissed the idea that he was answerable to APC governors, saying his political activities were not subject to their approval.
“I’m not answerable to APC governors.
“If people fail to learn from other people, they don’t grow. I took 31 days to commission projects in the FCT and they are not happy,” he added.
He said the 31-day project commissioning exercise in the FCT demonstrated his administration’s focus on delivering infrastructure while continuing with his political engagements.
Speaking on Rivers State, the former governor attributed what he described as the relative political stability in the state to the “Rainbow Coalition”, contrasting the situation with what he said was the absence of litigation over party candidates in the state.
“Because of our rainbow coalition, we no longer have Rivers of blood. There is no litigation on party candidates in Rivers State, unlike Imo State.”
Wike said the coalition was also gaining ground beyond Rivers, arguing that the political arrangement could deliver support for Tinubu in other parts of the South-South.
Asked where else in the region Tinubu could win in 2027, he pointed to Bayelsa State, claiming that PDP members in the state were already working for the President.
“That can happen in Bayelsa State. The whole PDP there is working for the President. The founder of the NDC is not the founder of Bayelsa.”
He also expressed confidence that Tinubu would secure victory in the FCT in the 2027 presidential election.
“As I sit here today, I will tell you that the President will win in the FCT,” he added.
