Wike moves to deliver FCT, Rivers for Tinubu in 2027

LMinister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared that he will coordinate President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign in the FCT and Rivers State in 2027, as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Assembly candidates pledged support for their All Progressives Congress (APC) counterparts.

Wike made the declaration on Monday at a stakeholders’ meeting of the Rainbow Coalition in Abuja, where he urged APC and PDP members to set aside their party differences and work together to secure Tinubu’s re-election.

“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,” he said.

“I am in charge of the FCT election. I am the commander of field operations as far as the FCT election is concerned.”

The meeting brought together party chairmen, serving and former senators, National Assembly candidates and political leaders from the six area councils of the FCT.

Wike said the coalition had agreed to support Tinubu’s re-election, as well as APC candidates contesting senatorial and House of Representatives seats in the territory.

He urged participants to prioritise the coalition’s objectives regardless of their political affiliations.

“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.

The former Rivers State governor cited the 2024 Edo State governorship election as an example of how political alliances could influence electoral outcomes.

He claimed that cooperation between elements of the APC and PDP helped prevent the incumbent governor from installing a successor.

Wike, however, said the arrangement was primarily focused on the presidential election, leaving participating parties to determine their positions on other contests.

Making a case for Tinubu’s re-election, the minister challenged political stakeholders to identify any of the FCT’s six area councils that had not benefited from infrastructure projects and institutional reforms under the administration.

He cited 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 as achievements of the administration.

He said the measures had expanded opportunities for career advancement among civil servants and increased participation in governance.

On infrastructure, Wike listed road construction and rehabilitation, school renovations, police stations and other public facilities among projects being executed across the territory.

He expressed confidence that the administration’s performance would help mobilise residents to support Tinubu in the 2027 general election.

The minister also defended the President’s economic reforms, acknowledging that some measures had imposed hardship on Nigerians but arguing that difficult decisions were necessary to address longstanding economic challenges.

“Changing the economy of a country is not like a prayer,” he said, maintaining that the benefits of the reforms might not be immediate.

Wike also backed the proposed establishment of state police, describing it as an important measure for addressing Nigeria’s security challenges.