Follow Us on Google
• Declares “Only Tinubu can question my political moves”
• Insists supporting president doesn’t mean abandoning other-party candidates
___________________________________________________________________
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has rejected the demand by the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governors’ Forum that politicians supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election should back APC candidates at all levels, describing the governors behind the position as “politically lazy”.
Wike, who remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while serving in the APC-led Federal Government, said his support for Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election did not amount to an obligation to support APC candidates in governorship, National Assembly or other elections.
The APC Governors’ Forum had declared that its members would neither support nor endorse any alliance or political arrangement capable of weakening the APC, undermining its candidates or affecting President Tinubu’s re-election.
The governors said their commitment would be exclusively to APC candidates at all levels.
But Wike, in an interview with Arise TV’s Prime Time anchor Charles Aniegolu, dismissed the position as politically motivated and challenged the governors to explain how support for Tinubu at the presidential level could prevent politicians from making independent choices in other elections.
“When I see the people who had that press conference, they are smart… but they are politically lazy, unfortunate,” Wike said.
He argued that the 2023 elections had demonstrated that Nigerians could vote for candidates of different political parties in separate contests held on the same day.
According to him, politicians supporting Tinubu should not be expected to automatically support every APC candidate in their respective states.
“So, Wike is supporting Mr President. Soludo is supporting Mr President. Does it mean that Soludo will not present a candidate in the National Assembly election?” he asked.
“Adam is supporting Mr President. Does it mean that his party will not support candidates in the National Assembly election? So you can see the whole thing they are talking about has no business.”
Wike said he had never concealed his support for Tinubu, stressing that his decision was based on his conviction that the presidency should remain in the South for another term.
“I have never hidden that, Mr President, as far as the presidency is concerned, we are going to support you,” he said.
“Why? Because of my belief that the presidency should go to the South.”
The minister also rejected suggestions that the APC governors’ declaration was primarily about protecting Tinubu’s re-election, arguing that their real concern was the protection of their own political structures.
“Their concern is about them. It’s about them. Not about President,” Wike said.
Other News
He further warned that the governors could not expect to dictate political outcomes or assume that their decisions would automatically prevail.
“People just sit in one place and then do all kinds of things and then come up to think that you have your way all the time,” he said.
“You cannot have your way all the time. They can’t. It’s not possible. Not with people like us.”
Wike also rejected the argument that his political influence was dependent on his position in government or his relationship with President Tinubu.
Asked whether his political leverage would diminish if Tinubu wins a second term in 2027 and becomes constitutionally ineligible for another presidential election, Wike said political relevance depended on a politician’s relationship with the people rather than merely occupying a government position.
“For him to be relevant, he must occupy a position of authority? No, certainly not. I don’t agree to that,” he said.
“It depends on how you carry yourself. It depends on how you relate to your people and it depends on how people feel.”
Wike maintained that his relationship with Tinubu was known to the President and that he had never hidden his political activities from him.
“Mr President knows what I do. He knows what I do,” he said.
He also dismissed suggestions that remaining in the PDP while backing an APC presidential candidate amounted to an identity crisis, insisting that he had consistently made his political position clear.
“I make my position known anytime, anywhere you are. And I make my position known,” he said.
The FCT minister further argued that supporting Tinubu did not require politicians to abandon their political identities or party affiliations.
He said the real test of leadership was the ability to manage differences and bring people together despite belonging to different political parties.
Wike also expressed confidence that Tinubu would win the 2027 presidential election, saying he would continue to mobilise support for the President across political divides.
He said politicians should focus on what would benefit their people rather than attempt to impose rigid party lines on every election.
