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• Says rainbow coalition has nothing to do with APC
• ‘After Tinubu’s re-election, we can face elections in our states’
• Politics is local, stakeholders should resolve their state problems
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has drawn a clear line between his support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 and other electoral contests, declaring that his backing is exclusively for the President.
Wike said he never promised that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would not field candidates for governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections in 2027.
He also dismissed suggestions that the emerging “rainbow coalition” was an arrangement with the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying it was instead a platform for politicians across party lines who were satisfied with Tinubu’s performance and willing to mobilise support for his re-election.
The FCT Minister stated this in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka.
According to Wike, his position remained the same as that which informed the decision of members of the G5 governors to support Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.
He said: “What I said and stand for is that I will mobilise support for the reelection of the President. I never promised anyone that PDP will not field candidates to contest governorship, National Assembly and States House of Assembly elections.
“Most importantly, rainbow coalition has nothing to do with the APC. Rather, it is own way of mobilising support across political parties for Mr President, who has done well to deserve a second term.”
Wike explained that neither he nor other members of the G5 held discussions with the APC before supporting Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, stressing that his 2027 commitment was similarly focused on the presidential contest.
“I never met with the All Progressives Congress before myself and other members of the G5 supported the President in 2023,” he said.
“And for 2027, my support is for the President only.”
The minister also rejected the argument that supporting Tinubu’s re-election would require politicians in other parties to abandon their platforms or electoral ambitions in their respective states.
He said political contests should be viewed through the realities of individual states, insisting that “politics is local” and that politicians facing difficulties in their states should address them rather than use the President’s re-election bid to create unnecessary controversy.
“I won’t be the one to help people to win elections in their States,” Wike said, urging those with political problems at the state level to resolve them themselves.
He argued that the outcome of the 2023 elections provided evidence that voters could distinguish between presidential and other electoral contests, rejecting suggestions that supporting Tinubu would automatically translate into support for APC candidates at every level.
Wike cited Imo State, where the APC won two senatorial seats in 2023 despite securing less than 15 per cent of the presidential vote in the state.
He asked: “In Imo State under Governor Hope Uzodinma, how did APC win two senate seats in 2023, in an election held the same day with that of the President and APC had less than 15 percent in the presidential election? Was it rainbow coalition? Were the voters confused?”
He similarly pointed to the APC’s victories in National Assembly elections in Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu States, despite Tinubu receiving less than 10 per cent of the presidential votes in those states.
“Was it rainbow coalition that also made APC to win National Assembly elections in Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu States where the President did not have ten percent of the votes?” he asked.
The minister maintained that voters were capable of making different choices in different elections and would not necessarily be confused in 2027 if politicians genuinely mobilised support for Tinubu.
“If in 2023, the voters in Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi voted APC in the Senatorial election and voted another party in the presidential election, they won’t be confused in 2027 provided we all support the president genuinely this time?” he said.
Wike therefore urged political stakeholders to make Tinubu’s presidential re-election their immediate priority, arguing that other electoral battles could be addressed after the presidential poll.
“After the President must have been reelected, we can all go and face elections in our States,” he said.
He further said the political landscape had changed, stressing that electoral success could no longer be reduced to the old practice of relying on political calculations to move from one position to another.
According to him, politics is now about building genuine grassroots support and securing votes from the polling units.
“Politics is no longer about coming from fourth position to be governor, it is about genuinely mobilising support and winning elections from the polling units,” Wike said.
