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• accuses Kwara governor of leading unwarranted campaign against him for no reason
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has predicted a strong showing for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, declaring that there is no part of Northern Nigeria where the President would fail to secure at least 25 per cent of the votes.
Wike also gave a bleak assessment of the electoral prospects of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, insisting that the former presidential candidate would struggle to secure 10 per cent of votes in many states across Southern Nigeria.
The FCT Minister made the assertions during his monthly media chat for September in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as political alignments and calculations ahead of the 2027 general election continued to intensify.
Wike, who has remained a vocal supporter of Tinubu’s re-election despite his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), expressed confidence that the President would command substantial support across the North.
“There is nowhere in the North that President Tinubu won’t get 25 per cent,” Wike declared.
He contrasted Tinubu’s prospects with those of Atiku, who was the PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, saying the former Vice President faced serious electoral limitations in the South.
“Atiku won’t get 10 per cent in so many southern states,” the minister said.
Wike’s latest projection came as he again defended his decision to support Tinubu’s second-term ambition while remaining in the PDP, maintaining that political calculations at the state and national levels could differ.
According to him, opposition parties hoping to defeat an incumbent President must first put their houses in order and build formidable political structures rather than assume that last-minute alliances would automatically produce electoral victories.
“Opposition cannot be scattered and be able to win this election,” Wike said.
He argued that winning the presidency required extensive preparation, political organisation and nationwide structures.
Wike also revisited the political crisis that divided the PDP ahead of the 2023 presidential election, disclosing that his political camp actively worked against Atiku’s ambition.
“We worked against Atiku in 2023 in a number of ways, including asking the Benue State Governor, Ortom, to support Peter Obi,” he said.
The FCT Minister was a central figure in the rebellion by the five PDP governors, popularly known as the G-5, who fell out with the party leadership ahead of the 2023 election.
Wike also disclosed that Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke had assured him of his support for Tinubu’s re-election bid.
“I advised Governor Adeleke to present his certificate of return to President Tinubu,” Wike said.
“I spoke with Governor Adeleke, and he confirmed to me he would support President Tinubu’s re-election.”
However, the minister also turned his fire on the Kwara State Governor and Chairman of Nigeria Governors of Forum (NGF), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, accusing him of leading what he described as an unwarranted campaign against him despite their membership of different political parties.
“The Kwara State governor is against me for no reason, even when I am not a member of his political party,” Wike said.
He alleged that the governor’s hostility was driven by fear of the PDP’s growing political prospects in Kwara State.
“The Kwara State governor is scared because he thinks my party, the PDP, will defeat him and his candidates in Kwara State,” Wike declared.
Wike did not identify the specific issues behind the alleged campaign against him but insisted that he had never concealed his political intentions.
“I have never hidden my intention. Whatever I am going to do, you will know I am going to do it. Whatever I will not do, you don’t need to go and meet any prophet,” he said.
