The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said his support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 remains unwavering, stressing that he never agreed that the Peoples Democratic Party would abandon other electoral contests.
Wike clarified that while he would mobilise support for Tinubu’s presidential bid, the PDP remained free to field candidates for governorship, National Assembly and state House of Assembly elections.
The minister made the clarification in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka.
Wike also distanced the so-called rainbow coalition from the All Progressives Congress, describing it as an arrangement involving members of different political parties who support Tinubu’s return to office based on their assessment of his performance.
He said his position was similar to that of the G5 governors in 2023, noting that neither he nor the other members of the group negotiated with the APC before backing Tinubu in the presidential election.
According to him, political realities in individual states should not be mixed with the campaign for the President’s re-election, arguing that politicians facing difficulties in their states should resolve such issues locally.
Wike said the 2023 elections had already demonstrated that voters could support different parties at different levels, citing the victories recorded by the APC in some senatorial contests in Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi despite the party’s weaker performance in the presidential poll in those states.
“Politics is no longer about coming from fourth position to become governor. It is about genuinely mobilising support and winning elections from the polling units,” he said.
The minister urged political stakeholders supporting Tinubu to prioritise the presidential election, stressing that after the President’s re-election, individual politicians and parties could return their attention to contests in their respective states.