Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has declared himself the field commander for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign in the FCT, saying he will coordinate the President’s campaign in the territory and Rivers State ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Wike made the declaration on Monday during a Rainbow Coalition stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, where he announced a cross-party mobilisation arrangement involving members of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
The meeting also saw PDP National Assembly candidates in the FCT express support for their APC counterparts, as Wike said participants had agreed to work together to secure Tinubu’s re-election and support APC candidates in the National Assembly elections.
The minister stated that Tinubu was the coalition’s preferred presidential candidate and confirmed that he would oversee campaign field operations in the FCT and Rivers State.
The meeting attracted 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 objective was to establish a common political platform for the presidential election, regardless of the political parties to which participants belonged.
He urged those involved to set aside party differences for the purpose of securing Tinubu’s re-election.
The former Rivers State governor cited the 2024 Edo State governorship election as an example of how political cooperation could influence electoral outcomes.
He claimed that cooperation involving members of the APC and PDP had helped prevent the incumbent governor from installing a successor, arguing that political differences could be set aside when stakeholders shared a common objective.
Wike, however, clarified that the coalition’s agreement was mainly focused on the presidential election, leaving participating parties to determine their positions on other contests.
Making a case for Tinubu’s re-election, the minister challenged political leaders to identify any of the FCT’s six area councils that had not benefited from infrastructure projects and institutional reforms under the current administration.
He cited the establishment of the FCT Civil Service Commission, the appointment of a Head of the Civil Service from within the territory’s workforce and the creation of the Women Affairs and Youth Development secretariats as examples of the administration’s achievements.
According to Wike, these measures had expanded opportunities for career advancement among FCT civil servants and increased participation in governance.
He also listed road construction and rehabilitation, school renovations, police stations and other public infrastructure projects as part of the administration’s activities across the territory.
The minister expressed confidence that the government’s record would help mobilise residents of the FCT to support Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
Wike also defended the President’s economic reforms, acknowledging that some policies had created hardship but arguing that difficult decisions were necessary to address the country’s longstanding economic challenges.
He maintained that transforming the economy would take time and that the benefits of reforms might not be felt immediately.
The FCT minister also expressed support for the proposed establishment of state police, describing it as an important step towards addressing Nigeria’s security challenges.
Source: PUNCH
