The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike has mounted a pointed defense of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election prospects, urging Nigerians to keep supporting the president in 2027.
Wike also sharply attacked a field of potential rivals, including former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and 2023 Labour Party candidate Peter Obi.
The FCT spoke during his monthly media briefing in Port Harcourt.
He noted that the President’s record – particularly what he described as empowerment for the Ogoni people and progress on security, were sufficient reason for voters to back Tinubu again.
“I enjoy my job as FCT Minister, and I am committed to it,” Wike said, acknowledging pressure to deliver but characterizing it as positive.
He argued that Ogoni communities had received benefits under the current administration and predicted that residents would reject calls to abandon the president.
The Minister also asserted that no government had done more to combat insecurity, a claim that stands at the center of the administration’s political argument ahead of the election.
He did not provide supporting data during the briefing.
Minister Wike reserved his sharpest language for Amaechi, his longtime political adversary and running mate to former Vice President Atiku of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
He questioned Amaechi’s record in Rivers State, citing allegations over funds earmarked for fumigation, an unbuilt hospital project and a tree-planting contract.
“Amaechi was a former super minister; he didn’t get 15% in Rivers State,” Wike said, dismissing the former transportation Minister’s electoral relevance.
He also criticized Amaechi for involving his wife in political remarks, calling the episode “sad.”
Turning to Atiku, Minister Wike asked what the former vice president had accomplished during eight years in office, while arguing that Obi’s political momentum had weakened since 2023.
He acknowledged former Kano Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso’s strength in Kano but said the opposition leader had not demonstrated broad northern reach.
Wike defended the Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party arrangement designed to consolidate support for Tinubu while allowing members to back different candidates in legislative and state races.
He said the coalition had been organized for more than two years and had already allocated political positions and electoral responsibilities among allies.
The FCT Minister said he had conceded 13 seats to the All Progressives Congress and three to the Peoples Democratic Party, adding that both elective and appointive roles had been considered.
Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, he said, participated in unveiling the coalition’s candidates and had not complained about exclusion.
Minister Wike denied involvement in a court judgment involving former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, rejecting suggestions that he had influenced the outcome amid his dispute with Imo Governor Hope Uzodinma.
He also dismissed a legal challenge from the Turaki-led PDP faction as likely to fail at the Supreme Court.
On allegations of land grabbing at the University of Abuja raised by the institution’s ASUU branch, Minister Wike rejected the union’s claims and welcomed a court test.
Responding to complaints over high billboard fees in Abuja, the Minister said politics was expensive and that candidates unable to afford outdoor advertising could use social media.
