2027: Wike tasks Tinubu supporters with grassroots victory

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has urged political stakeholders backing President Bola Tinubu to focus on securing his victory at the ward, local government and state levels ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Wike said political supporters should prioritise electoral results in their respective constituencies rather than positions in the presidential campaign structure.

The minister spoke on Saturday while inspecting ongoing infrastructure projects in Abuja, where he also explained his decision not to seek the position of Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council.

“Every politics is local. If you cannot deliver the president in your state, how will you say you want an election? If you lose your own state, even if you’re DG, you’ll be ashamed,” Wike said.

He argued that holding a campaign position would be meaningless if the individual could not deliver their political base for the candidate.

Wike cited former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal and former Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong as politicians who had previously headed campaign structures but were unable to deliver their states to their candidates.

“I don’t want to lose my state! I will be in my state. I have two states: FCT and my state,” he said.

The minister, who reiterated that he is not a member of the APC, said his support for Tinubu did not require membership of the party’s presidential campaign council.

According to him, the political coalition that supported Tinubu in 2023 would remain relevant in 2027, although its structure could differ across states.

“We don’t need to be members of the APC Presidential Campaign Council. We are doing our own work,” he said.

Wike also pointed to ongoing infrastructure projects in the FCT as evidence of the Tinubu administration’s performance, arguing that completed projects would serve as a stronger campaign message than promises.

“When people have asked me about campaign, I say, ‘What is campaign? See the campaign!’ Campaign is what have you done for the people? What has the government got to show?” he said.

The minister inspected the Apo-Karshi Road and the 14-kilometre dualisation of the Bwari-Kubwa Satellite Town access road during the visit.

He said the Apo-Karshi project, originally awarded in 2010, was inherited by the Tinubu administration and later re-awarded to SCC after the FCT Administration terminated the previous contract.

Wike said the contractor had indicated that the road would be completed by November, adding that he was satisfied with the progress of work despite previous payment challenges.

On the Bwari-Kubwa road, he described the project as a major intervention aimed at improving connectivity and economic activity in the satellite towns.

Wike said the FCT Administration planned to complete and commission several major projects before the 2027 elections, adding that the number could exceed the 10 projects earlier targeted.

“Before the election, I gave 10 projects that we commissioned. If care is not taken, it may be more than 10 projects that are very impactful to the economic activities and the lives of the residents of these cities,” he said.