Wike: My 2027 Deal Is With Tinubu, Not APC
FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has drawn a clear distinction between his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid and the participation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in other elections, saying his political commitment is limited to helping the President secure a second term.
Wike, in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, said he never promised that the PDP would refrain from fielding candidates in governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.
He also rejected suggestions that the so-called “rainbow coalition” was an arrangement with the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to Wike’s statement, the coalition is intended to bring together politicians across party lines who support Tinubu’s re-election based on what they consider the achievements of his administration. “What I said and stand for is that I will mobilise 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,” Wike said.
He further stated that his support for Tinubu in 2027 should not be interpreted as an endorsement of APC candidates in state-level contests, stressing that he did not negotiate with the APC before he and other members of the G5 backed Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election. “For 2027, my support is for the president only,” he said.
Wike pointed to the voting pattern in the 2023 elections in states including Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi, where voters supported different parties at the presidential and National Assembly levels, to argue that Nigerians can similarly make separate choices in 2027. He questioned whether such voting patterns were the result of a “rainbow coalition” or voter confusion.
The minister also cautioned politicians against using Tinubu’s re-election bid to settle state-level political disputes. “I won't be the one to help people to win elections in their States,” he said, urging those facing political challenges in their respective states to resolve them locally because “politics is local.”
Wike urged political stakeholders to place the presidential election ahead of other contests, saying, “after the President must have been reelected, we can all go and face elections in our States.”
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