The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said he never promised that the Peoples Democratic Party would not sponsor candidates for the governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections in 2027, insisting that his political commitment is specifically to the re-election of President Bola Tinubu.
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Wike stated this in a statement issued on Tuesday by his spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, following the resolution of governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress not to support candidates outside the ruling party.
“What I said and stand for is that I will mobilise support for the re-election of the President. I never promised anyone that PDP will not field candidates to contest governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections,” Wike said.
He maintained that his Rainbow Coalition had nothing to do with the APC, explaining that it was created to mobilise support for Tinubu across political party lines.
“Most importantly, the Rainbow Coalition has nothing to do with the APC. Rather, it is our own way of mobilising support across political parties for Mr President, who has done well to deserve a second term,” he added.
The minister also accused some governors of using Tinubu’s re-election bid to whip up political sentiments.
Wike’s clarification means that while he intends to mobilise support for Tinubu in the presidential election, he has not undertaken to support APC candidates contesting governorship and legislative seats against candidates sponsored by the PDP.
His position came after APC governors, under the Progressive Governors Forum, declared that they would not support or endorse any candidate outside the ruling party during the 2027 general elections.
The governors reached the resolution during a high-level meeting held on Monday at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.
Chairman of the forum and Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, who read the communiqué, said members would not participate in any alliance or political arrangement capable of undermining Tinubu’s re-election, weakening the APC or adversely affecting any of the party’s candidates.
“The forum unanimously resolved that each member will not participate in, support or endorse any political alliance or political arrangement capable of undermining the re-election of Mr President, weakening the APC or adversely affecting any candidate of the party at all levels,” Uzodimma said.
The forum noted that all candidates contesting the elections on the APC platform were being sponsored by the party and were therefore entitled to the full support of its governors and campaign structures.
“In other words, the forum has no intention of supporting any candidate at any level if the candidate is not from the APC. The elections of our candidates are being sponsored by our party,” Uzodimma stated.
“The governors’ campaign commitment is exclusively to all APC candidates. All levels of the party campaign architecture will align with the expectations of Mr President and the strategic objectives of the party.”
The governors warned that political arrangements capable of creating divided loyalty and competing interests within the APC would not be entertained.
Although the communiqué did not expressly mention Wike or the Rainbow Coalition, the resolution came amid concerns among some APC stakeholders over the FCT minister’s cross-party mobilisation for Tinubu.
The Rainbow Coalition has reportedly attracted support from political figures and groups in Rivers, Kwara, Gombe and other states.
The arrangement allows politicians from different parties to support Tinubu’s presidential bid without necessarily joining the APC or abandoning their respective parties’ candidates in other electoral contests.
This has raised concerns within the ruling party that some members of the coalition could campaign for Tinubu in the presidential election while supporting opposition candidates against APC flagbearers in governorship and legislative elections.
Wike, however, insisted that there was no ambiguity in his position. According to him, his commitment is to Tinubu’s re-election and does not amount to a promise that the PDP will withdraw from other contests or surrender its candidates to the APC.
The minister served as Rivers State governor on the PDP platform from 2015 to 2023 but supported Tinubu, then the APC presidential candidate, during the 2023 general election following his disagreement with the PDP leadership and its presidential candidate.
He was subsequently appointed Minister of the Federal Capital Territory by Tinubu in August 2023.
Despite serving in the APC-led Federal Government, Wike has continued to identify as a member of the PDP and has maintained that his support for Tinubu does not automatically extend to the APC as a political party.
The positions taken by Wike and the Progressive Governors Forum underline the emerging contest over how the cross-party coalition supporting Tinubu will operate during the 2027 elections.
While the APC governors are demanding exclusive loyalty to every candidate sponsored by their party, Wike maintains that politicians from opposition parties can support Tinubu for President while campaigning for their parties’ candidates in governorship and legislative contests.
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