Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has said he could not have emerged as Director-General of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 presidential campaign council because he is not a member of the All Progressives Congress.
He said he would rather concentrate on delivering electoral support in Rivers State and the FCT.
Wike spoke on Saturday while inspecting ongoing construction works on the Apo-Karshi and Kubwa-Bwari roads in Abuja, shortly after the Presidency announced the composition of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, with former Zamfara State Governor, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, appointed as its Director-General.
Responding to questions on whether he would have preferred to head the campaign council, Wike said the position did not appeal to him, citing the electoral fate that befell several politicians who previously coordinated presidential campaigns but lost their respective states.
The minister recalled that former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, served as Director-General of Muhammadu Buhari’s 2015 and 2019 campaigns but lost Rivers State in both elections.
He also cited former Senate President Bukola Saraki, who headed Atiku Abubakar’s 2019 presidential campaign, as well as former Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, and former Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, who occupied similar campaign positions in 2023 but failed to deliver their states.
“I don’t want to lose my state. I will be in my state. I have two states: FCT and Rivers. What is important is that you are able to deliver those two states. So it is not about being DG. If you are DG and you don’t win your state, what is the essence of the DG?” Wike said.
He further explained that his non-membership of the APC made his appointment to a formal structure of the party’s campaign council unlikely, stressing that his support for Tinubu had never depended on occupying a position within the ruling party.
“I am not a member of APC. So the issue of their Presidential Campaign Council is out of the question,” he said.
According to the minister, his support for Tinubu in the 2023 election was based on a separate political strategy developed by politicians who backed the President despite belonging to different political parties.
Wike said the arrangement, which he described as the “Rainbow Coalition,” was still being used ahead of the 2027 election, with politicians across party lines working to secure Tinubu’s victory in their respective states.
“When we formed the Rainbow Coalition, so many parties were coming together, working together in some states to make sure that the President wins,” he said, citing Kwara, Bayelsa, Rivers, Osun and Benue among the states where the coalition was operating.
The minister also dismissed the idea that holding a prominent position in a presidential campaign should be regarded as evidence of a politician’s strength or electoral relevance.
He maintained that actual electoral performance, rather than campaign titles, would ultimately determine the political standing of individuals and parties in the 2027 elections.
“Nobody should use that as a yardstick to judge who will be the governor of any state. I think there is only one state that is clear that will produce a governor. It is my state. It is very clear. The other ones, we don’t know what will happen,” Wike said.
On the road projects inspected in Abuja, the minister expressed satisfaction with the progress of construction and said the projects were expected to be completed before the end of the year.
Wike added that the FCT Administration’s original plan to complete 10 major projects before the 2027 general elections was likely to be surpassed, noting that the number of projects expected to be delivered had risen beyond the initial target.
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