Wike Leads Tinubu’s Re-election Push in FCT

Author: Gist Correspondent

...PDP NASS Candidates Back APC Contenders in FCT

Minister 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 ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Wike made the declaration on Monday at a stakeholders’ meeting of the Rainbow Coalition in Abuja, where he unveiled a cross-party mobilisation strategy involving members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The minister also disclosed that PDP candidates for the National Assembly in the FCT had agreed to support their APC counterparts, alongside the coalition’s endorsement of Tinubu for another presidential term.

“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.

Wike further described himself as the leader of field operations for the president’s re-election campaign in the FCT.

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

The meeting attracted APC and PDP stakeholders, including party chairmen, serving and former senators, National Assembly candidates and political leaders from the FCT’s six area councils.

Wike said the gathering was aimed at building a united political front for Tinubu’s re-election, insisting that party affiliations should not hinder cooperation among members of the coalition.

“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 governorship election as an example of how cooperation among political actors could influence electoral outcomes.

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

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

To justify the coalition’s support for Tinubu, the minister challenged political leaders to identify any of the FCT’s six area councils that had not benefited from the administration’s infrastructure projects and institutional reforms.

He highlighted 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 notable achievements.

According to Wike, the reforms had improved career advancement opportunities for civil servants and broadened participation in governance.

He also listed road construction and rehabilitation, school renovations, police stations and other public facilities among projects being undertaken across the territory.

The minister expressed confidence that the administration’s performance would strengthen efforts to mobilise FCT residents behind Tinubu in 2027.

On the economy, Wike defended the president’s reforms, acknowledging that some measures had caused temporary hardship 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 economic reforms might take time to become evident.

He also backed the proposed establishment of state police,challenges.