2027: My support only for Tinubu; I didn’t promise PDP won’t field other candidates—Wike
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has reiterated his support for the re-election
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The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has reiterated his support for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying his backing for the President remained sacrosanct.
Wike said he never promised that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) would not field candidates in governorship, National Assembly, and States House of Assembly elections.
The minister also said the rainbow coalition had no connection with the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing it as a platform for political parties supporting Tinubu’s re-election based on their assessment of his performance.
In a statement on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant to the Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, Wike said he would not help people win elections in their respective states.
He said, “Politics is local, and those having problems in their states should resolve them instead of using the reelection of the president to whip up sentiments.”
Wike noted that he had never met with the APC before he and other members of the G5 supported Tinubu in 2023, adding that his support in 2027 was for the president.
The minister said politics was no longer about coming from fourth position to become governor but about mobilizing genuine support and winning elections from polling units.
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 the Rainbow Coalition? Were the voters confused?
“Was it the Rainbow Coalition that also made APC win the National Assembly elections in Ebonyi, Abia, and Enugu States, where the president did not have ten percent of the votes?
“If in 2023, the voters in Imo, Abia, Enugu, and Ebonyi voted for APC in the senatorial election and voted for another party in the presidential election, they won’t be confused in 2027, provided we all support the president genuinely this time?
Wike urged political stakeholders to prioritize the presidential election, saying, “After the president must have been reelected, we can all go and face elections in our states.”
He added, “What I said and stand for is that I will mobilize 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 its own way of mobilizing support across political parties for Mr President, who has done well to deserve a second term,” he said.
