The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has pledged to mobilise voters in Rivers State and the FCT to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
Wike made the pledge on Wednesday while delivering a goodwill message at the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, where he was assigned to coordinate the campaign in Rivers State and the FCT.
He said he was confident of securing support for the President in the two areas, declaring, “I’m pledged, by the grace of God, Rivers and FCT will vote massively for Bola Ahmed Tinubu. That is my joy. I have only two assignments, Rivers and FCT.”
The former Rivers State governor also urged members of the campaign council to prioritise electoral results over the positions they occupy, warning that appointments and campaign responsibilities would mean little without victory at the polls.
“What is important is that you deliver your state. If you don’t deliver your state and the President wins, don’t say we have won,” he said.
Wike also defended the Tinubu administration’s approach to governance, arguing that the President had demonstrated leadership by confronting difficult national challenges that previous administrations had avoided.
Citing state police as an example, he said successive administrations had recognised its potential role in addressing insecurity but had failed to take decisive steps towards its establishment.
“By the grace of God, in the next few months, I’m sure that will be passed to have state police in Nigeria. That is leadership. That is leadership,” Wike said.
He further argued that political opposition should not automatically translate into rejecting government policies, insisting that democracy allows opposition parties to scrutinise the government and highlight areas requiring attention.
“Democracy allows opposition to be there, to look at things that the ruling party or the ones in power are not concentrating on. Democracy is to bring out these issues you are not tackling,” he said.
Speaking in his capacity as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, Wike maintained that the opposition should acknowledge government actions it considers beneficial rather than oppose them simply because they are undertaken by the ruling party.
He expressed confidence that the campaign council would return after the election to celebrate the President’s victory, saying, “January 16th, 2027, to the glory of God, we will come back here and say thank you to the Almighty God.”
Boluwatife Enome
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