Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has pledged to coordinate President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaigns in the FCT and Rivers State ahead of the 2027 general election, as political stakeholders from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) move to consolidate support for the president.
Wike made the declaration on Monday at a stakeholders’ meeting of the Rainbow Coalition in Abuja, where he said members of both parties had agreed to work together towards Tinubu’s re-election despite their different political affiliations.
The minister said the coalition had also agreed to support APC candidates contesting Senate and House of Representatives seats in the FCT. PDP candidates for the National Assembly at the meeting openly declared their support for their APC counterparts.
“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,” Wike said.
“I am in charge of the FCT election. I am the commander of field operations as far as the FCT election is concerned.”
The meeting brought together APC and PDP stakeholders, including party chairmen, serving and former senators, National Assembly candidates and political leaders from the FCT’s six area councils.
Wike said the coalition was established to build a common political front ahead of the 2027 elections, urging participants to prioritise their shared objective over party affiliations.
“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 said.
The former Rivers State governor cited the 2024 Edo State governorship election as an example of how cross-party alliances could influence electoral outcomes. He claimed that cooperation between elements of the APC and PDP had helped prevent the incumbent governor from installing a successor.
He said the experience demonstrated that political alliances could succeed when stakeholders were united around a common goal.
Wike, however, clarified that the arrangement was primarily focused on the presidential election, leaving participating parties to determine their positions on other electoral contests.
To justify his support for Tinubu’s re-election, the minister highlighted infrastructure development and institutional reforms undertaken by the president’s administration in the FCT.
He challenged political leaders to identify any of the territory’s six area councils that had not benefited from the administration’s projects.
Among the initiatives he cited were the establishment of the FCT Civil Service Commission, the appointment of an FCT Head of the Civil Service from within the territory’s workforce, and the creation of the Women Affairs and Youth Development Secretariats.
According to Wike, the reforms had expanded opportunities for career progression among FCT civil servants and strengthened participation in governance.
He also listed road construction and rehabilitation, school renovations, police stations and other public facilities among projects being executed across the territory.
The minister expressed confidence that the administration’s record on infrastructure and institutional development would help mobilise residents to support Tinubu’s re-election bid.
On the economy, Wike defended Tinubu’s reform agenda, acknowledging that some policy decisions had imposed hardship on Nigerians but arguing that difficult measures were necessary to address longstanding economic challenges.
“Changing the economy of a country is not like a prayer,” he said, noting that the benefits of economic reforms might not be immediate.
He also expressed support for the proposed establishment of state police, describing it as an important measure for addressing Nigeria’s security challenges.
The coalition’s mobilisation effort signals an attempt to bring political actors from the ruling APC and opposition PDP together around Tinubu’s re-election, while securing support for APC candidates in the FCT’s legislative contests ahead of the 2027 polls.
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