Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has declared that he will coordinate President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign in the FCT and Rivers State ahead of the 2027 general election.
Wike made stated this on Monday while hosting a stakeholders’ meeting of the Rainbow Coalition in Abuja, where he rallied political leaders across the six area councils of the FCT and announced an alliance involving members of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
The meeting also saw PDP National Assembly candidates in the FCT declare support for their APC counterparts.
According to Wike, “For the presidency, all of us have agreed that it is Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I am going to coordinate the FCT and Rivers State. So you can imagine how important it is.
“I am in charge of the FCT election. I am the commander of field operations as far as the FCT election is concerned.”
The minister said the coalition had agreed to work together for Tinubu’s re-election, insisting that party affiliations would not stand in the way of their common objective.
“I want to let all of you know that we are going to work together. Nobody should say, ‘I am PDP’ or ‘I am APC.’ For the purpose of this election, we are together,” he said.
Wike, however, clarified that the alliance was primarily focused on the presidential election, leaving participating parties to decide their positions on other contests.
He cited the 2024 Edo State governorship election as an example of how political alliances could influence electoral outcomes, arguing that cooperation between elements of the APC and PDP had helped prevent the incumbent governor from installing a successor.
Making a case for Tinubu’s re-election, the minister challenged stakeholders to identify any of the FCT’s six area councils that had not benefited from the administration’s projects and reforms.
He listed the establishment of the FCT Civil Service Commission, the appointment of an FCT Head of the Civil Service from within the territory’s workforce and the creation of the Women Affairs and Youth Development Secretariats among the administration’s achievements.
Wike also cited ongoing road construction and rehabilitation, school renovations, police stations and other public facilities as evidence of the administration’s development efforts. He said the Apo-Karshi Road would be delivered in November.
The minister maintained that the projects and institutional reforms provided grounds for residents to support Tinubu’s re-election, urging political leaders to assess the administration’s record in the territory.
On the President’s economic reforms, Wike acknowledged the hardship associated with some of the policies but argued that difficult decisions were necessary to address longstanding economic problems.
“Changing the economy of a country is not like a prayer,” he said, adding that the benefits of the reforms might not be immediate.
He also backed the proposed establishment of state police, describing it as an important measure for tackling Nigeria’s security challenges.
Wike assured the stakeholders that he would provide the resources needed for the campaign and remove obstacles that could hinder their mobilisation.
“I am the field marshal of this election in the FCT, and we are building a coalition that will not fail.
“Whatever is required to conduct the election, we will have it. Everything that is required, every obstacle, I have already removed them, by providing what the FCT people want,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of other stakeholders, Senator Jibrin Wowo and Zakari Dobi expressed confidence in Tinubu’s re-election bid, citing projects across the FCT and pledging support for the President.
