The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has vowed that the political mistakes of the 2023 general elections will not be repeated in the FCT, as he moves to consolidate cross-party support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
Speaking at an interactive session in Bwari Area Council, Wike told area-council chairmen, traditional rulers, youth groups and politicians from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the FCT was “firmly locked down” for Tinubu.
“The mistake we made in 2023, would we make that mistake again?” he asked, drawing a negative response from the audience.
Wike described the emerging alliance as a “rainbow coalition” intended to unite politicians across party lines around development and the welfare of FCT residents.
He argued that party affiliation should not take precedence over public interest.
“It doesn’t matter the party. After all, a party is a vehicle that conveys you to where you are going,” he said.
“When you get there, you come down from the vehicle and you now work for the interest of the people,” Wike added.
At the event, the minister endorsed former Senator Philip Aduda and John Gbadaya under the coalition’s political arrangement.
He presented Aduda as a politician who understood residents’ concerns and urged participants to support him.
Wike also questioned the performance of the FCT’s current senator, Ireti Kingibe, asking whether residents felt her presence or impact.
“Today, the people of FCT, do you feel the impact? Do you feel the presence of the senator representing FCT today?” he asked.
The minister framed his appeal around infrastructure projects and other interventions in the territory, saying residents should support the Tinubu administration because of its record.
He warned them against what he called “political gamblers.”
Wike endorsed Tinubu’s second-term ambition, crediting the president’s approval and support for major projects with helping to address infrastructure deficits across the FCT.
“All these things are being done because somebody is responsible,” the minister said.
“If the person does not agree with the minister doing anything, nothing will happen.”
He said the Gombe-Kubwa road project would be ready for use by December.
“By the grace of God, this December, you will do Christmas on this road, Gombe to Kubwa,” he said.
The minister disclosed that political negotiations had led Julius Adamu, the PDP chairmanship candidate in the last area-council elections, to step down for Joshua, the Bwari Area Council chairman.
He described the decision as an example of placing collective interests above personal ambition.
Wike said he would recommend Adamu for a position in the FCT Universal Basic Education Commission, adding that cooperation among political stakeholders was necessary to achieve the coalition’s objectives.
FCT APC Chairman Tanko Yamawo commended Wike for fostering cooperation among politicians from rival parties, recalling a time when political divisions prevented members of opposing parties from openly associating.
He said the situation had changed under the Rainbow Coalition.
“What you have done today is not for Aduda, Gabaya and Chiya to benefit, but all of us as politicians in FCT are going to benefit from what you have started today,” Yamawo said.
FCT PDP Chairman Ismaila Dogara said the coalition had come to stay and that party members were ready to work together in support of Tinubu.
He urged Wike to convey residents’ expectations to the president.
Similarly, traditional rulers praised the minister for ongoing infrastructure work but appealed for greater attention to roads and other facilities in their communities.
In his remarks, the Sarkin Bwari, Alhaji Awwal Ijakoro II, welcomed water projects and road construction around Tokulo, Ushafa and the Bwari-Zuba axis, but asked for the rehabilitation of the road linking the Army Checkpoint to central Bwari.
Also speaking, the Esu of Bwari, Dr. Ibrahim Yaro, commended the administration’s infrastructure efforts and called for improved roads linking Karu, Mpape and neighboring communities.
The Bwari Area Council Chairman, Joshua, thanked the FCT minister for his political support and pledged continued cooperation with the FCT administration.
