By David Oluwatosin
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared himself the coordinator of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign in the FCT and Rivers State ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Wike made the declaration on Monday during a meeting of the Rainbow Coalition at his Abuja residence, attended by political stakeholders from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The minister said he would coordinate campaign activities and field operations in the two locations, urging members of both parties to set aside their political differences in pursuit of Tinubu’s second-term ambition.
“For the presidency, all of us have agreed that it is Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I am going to coordinate the FCT and Rivers State. So you can imagine how important it is. I am in charge of the FCT election. I am the commander of field operations as far as the FCT election is concerned,” Wike said.
He urged members of the coalition to prioritise the presidential election over their party affiliations, insisting that support for Tinubu should not be restricted by membership of either the APC or the PDP.
“I want to let all of you know that we are going to work together. Nobody should say, ‘I am PDP’ or ‘I am APC.’ For the purpose of this election, we are together,” he added.
The meeting brought together party chairmen, serving and former senators, National Assembly candidates and other political figures from the FCT’s six area councils.
A notable development at the gathering was the reported willingness of PDP National Assembly candidates in the FCT to support their APC counterparts, pointing to a possible cross-party understanding centred on Tinubu’s re-election.
However, Wike indicated that the cooperation would not necessarily extend to other electoral contests, maintaining that politicians could support the president while retaining their party identities and pursuing elective offices under their respective platforms.
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The minister remains a member of the PDP despite his continued support for Tinubu, a position that has generated disagreements within the opposition party since the 2023 presidential election.
Wike has repeatedly defended the Rainbow Coalition as a platform for mobilising support for Tinubu, rather than an attempt to replace the APC or force opposition politicians to abandon their parties.
To support his argument for cross-party collaboration, he cited the 2024 Edo State governorship election, claiming that cooperation between APC and PDP figures helped prevent the then-incumbent governor from installing a preferred successor.
The coalition has also attracted criticism from within the APC. The party’s Deputy National Chairman (South), Dr Ben Nwoye, had previously rejected the arrangement, warning that politicians who support Tinubu while backing candidates from other parties could create complications for the ruling party.
Wike, however, has maintained that his support for Tinubu does not amount to an agreement to stop the PDP from fielding candidates in other elections.
His declaration signals an effort to organise a cross-party support structure for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 polls, while allowing participating politicians to retain their affiliations and pursue separate ambitions in other contests.
