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Reiterates Rivers, FCT will vote massively for president
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Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike has warned coordinators of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign against claiming victory if they fail to deliver their respective states, insisting that every campaign official must be held accountable for their electoral performance.
Wike said securing a national victory for Tinubu would not excuse campaign coordinators who failed to mobilise sufficient votes in their assigned territories, stressing that appointments and positions in the campaign council must translate into tangible electoral results.
“If you don’t deliver your state and the President wins, don’t say we have won. It is not a question of I am chairman of this, I am secretary of this, I am a member of this,” he said.
The minister spoke on Wednesday at the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council at the State House Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Wike, who was named coordinator of Tinubu’s campaign in Rivers State and the FCT, said campaign officials must take personal responsibility for delivering their areas rather than rely on the overall outcome of the presidential election.
He illustrated the point with Lagos State, recalling a conversation with the Chief of Staff to the President.
“If you don’t win in Lagos, don’t say we have won,” he quoted himself as saying.
The former Rivers State governor expressed confidence in his own assignment, pledging that Rivers and the FCT would deliver massive votes for Tinubu in the January 16, 2027, presidential election.
“Simple, there is not too much work for me. It’s Rivers and FCT, and let me say and pledge, by the grace of God, Rivers and FCT will vote massively for Bola Ahmed Tinubu. That is my job,” he said.
Wike challenged officials to look beyond their titles and focus on the responsibility of convincing voters to support the President.
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“Rivers and FCT, it is taken. I challenge any area council that can say they don’t see the presence of Mr President,” he added.
The minister, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also asserted that he remained the party’s sole leader, declaring that there were no two leaders of the PDP.
“For me, as an opposition party member, as the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, there are not two leaders of the PDP.”
“I’m the leader of the PDP, so I speak on behalf of the Peoples Democratic Party,” he said.
Wike defended his support for Tinubu, arguing that being in the opposition should not prevent politicians from acknowledging what they consider positive actions by the ruling party.
“Democracy allows the opposition to be there to look at things that the ruling party have not concentrated on and say these are the issues you are not tackling.”
“Democracy is not that if the ruling party is doing well, because you are in opposition, you say they are not doing well. That is not democracy,” he said.
He also praised Tinubu for what he described as the political will to confront longstanding national challenges, citing the proposed establishment of state police as an example.
Wike expressed optimism that the proposal would receive legislative approval in the coming months, arguing that previous administrations had acknowledged the need for state police but had failed to establish it.
“By the grace of God, in the next few months, I’m sure that will be passed to have state police in Nigeria. That is leadership,” he said.
The minister further defended the inclusion of opposition figures in Tinubu’s campaign council, saying the President had indicated that politicians outside the APC who had something to contribute should be accommodated.
