Adeleke’s Meeting With Tinubu Signals Bigger Coalition Ahead Of 2027–Wike

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has predicted the emergence of a broader political coalition in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Wike spoke on Friday in Abuja while inspecting ongoing infrastructure projects in the Federal Capital Territory.

He was reacting to the recent meeting between President Tinubu and Osun State Governor-elect, Ademola Adeleke, which he described as evidence of a widening political alignment around the President.

According to Wike, the development would lead to what he called a “larger Rainbow Coalition” comprising politicians from different political parties.

He rejected the description of the emerging alliance as an opposition affair, arguing that Nigeria currently lacks a clearly established leading opposition party.

“When you say opposition, I’ve told you I don’t know what you call opposition, as far as there is no opposition now,” Wike said.

The minister noted that Adeleke, despite securing the ticket for the Osun governorship election on the platform of the Accord Party, remains associated with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said the recent political engagements were aimed at building a broader coalition behind Tinubu ahead of 2027.

“What happened last night is meeting to rebuild a larger Rainbow Coalition. And he (Adeleke) is supporting Mr President. He’s in a different party; I’m supporting Mr President, and I’m in a different party. So, it’s a larger Rainbow Coalition,” Wike said.

He predicted that more politicians would join the emerging alliance in the weeks ahead.

“And the next few weeks, watch what is going to happen. You will see a larger Rainbow Coalition in this country supporting Mr President,” he said.

Wike also dismissed claims by members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that the party and other opposition groups played a major role in Adeleke’s electoral victory.

“All those ADC who are talking about ‘they helped Adeleke to win,’ they just wanted to go and harvest where they never planted,” he said.

The FCT minister maintained that Adeleke was now supporting Tinubu, describing the development as a boost to the President’s political standing ahead of the 2027 election.

He further suggested that the emerging political realignment had weakened the opposition and would make the 2027 contest easier for Tinubu’s camp.

Asked about the possible reactions of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi to his political engagement with Adeleke, Wike said he was not concerned about their views.

“I have told you when you say ‘leading opposition,’ I’ve told you that there’s no opposition,” he said.

“What you have are people who are just trying to see whether they can be relevant.”

Wike said the PDP would ordinarily have been regarded as the main opposition party but had been weakened by its prolonged internal crisis.

“Ordinarily, it should have been PDP, but because of the crisis we’ve had, and so you can’t see a formidable party that you will call the leading opposition party,” he said.

He added that his priority was to secure victory for his political camp, stressing that political contests were not about making opponents comfortable.

Earlier, Wike said his inspection tour was aimed at assessing the progress of major projects scheduled for completion before the end of the year.

He inspected the N5 Extension in Life Camp, being constructed by Julius Berger, and expressed satisfaction with the pace of work.

The minister said the road project was expected to be completed and handed over in December.

He also visited the N1 Road project being executed by Arab Contractors, where he praised the quality of work and confirmed that the project was also scheduled for completion and handover in December.

Wike later inspected the IBB International Golf Club, which is undergoing rehabilitation following intervention by President Tinubu.

He said the facility was particularly important to members of the diplomatic community who had expressed concerns over its prolonged closure.

Wike directed that the rehabilitation be completed in time for the facility to reopen in December.

“That this golf course must be ready and be reopened by December. So we are giving it to Julius Berger to ensure that everything is done. And by December this year, the golf course will be reopened,” he said.

He explained that Julius Berger was selected for the rehabilitation because the company originally constructed the golf facility and was therefore familiar with its design and technical requirements.

According to Wike, physical work on the project is expected to be completed by November, paving the way for its official reopening in December.

The minister said the golf club was closed following an internal crisis that resulted in the appointment of a caretaker committee led by the President of the Court of Appeal.

He commended the committee for helping to resolve the dispute and creating the conditions for the rehabilitation of the facility.

Wike, however, warned that the government would not continue to fund the club after its reopening.

He said the management should generate enough revenue to cover its operations and maintenance instead of relying on public funds.

“I would believe, this time around, that when this is done, they should be able to raise funds by themselves to run this place. The government should not use public funds to come back to do it,” he said.

The minister assured that the FCT Administration would continue to facilitate payments to contractors to ensure that the rehabilitation remained on schedule, stressing that the December reopening deadline would be maintained.