2027: If You Don’t Deliver Your State, Don’t Say We Have Won — Wike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has warned coordinators of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign against claiming victory if they fail to deliver their respective states for the President.

Wike said campaign coordinators must be held accountable for their performance at the polls, stressing that their positions and titles within the campaign council must translate into votes.

He spoke on Wednesday at the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council at the State House Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The minister, who was appointed coordinator of Tinubu’s campaign in Rivers State and the FCT, said a nationwide victory for the President should not be used to excuse poor electoral performance in individual states.

“If you don’t deliver your state and the President wins, don’t say we have won. It is not a question of I am chairman of this, I am secretary of this, I am a member of this,” he said.

Wike illustrated his position with Lagos State, recalling a conversation with the Chief of Staff to the President in which he emphasised the importance of delivering the state.

“If you don’t win in Lagos, don’t say we have won,” he quoted himself as saying.

The former Rivers State governor expressed confidence in his own assignment, pledging that Rivers State and the FCT would deliver massive votes for Tinubu in the January 16, 2027, presidential election.

“Simple, there is not too much work for me. It’s Rivers and FCT, and let me say and pledge, by the grace of God, Rivers and FCT will vote massively for Bola Ahmed Tinubu. That is my job,” he said.

He added that campaign officials must focus on convincing voters and demonstrating the President’s presence through projects and other interventions in their respective areas.

“Rivers and FCT, it is taken. I challenge any area council that can say they don’t see the presence of Mr President,” Wike said.

The minister, who remains a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also declared that he was the party’s sole leader.

“For me, as an opposition party member, as the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, there are not two leaders of the PDP,” he said.

“I’m the leader of the PDP, so I speak on behalf of the Peoples Democratic Party,” he added.

Wike also defended his support for Tinubu, arguing that belonging to an opposition party should not prevent politicians from acknowledging policies or actions by the ruling party that they consider beneficial.

He said democracy allowed opposition parties to identify areas where the government had fallen short, but maintained that opposing a ruling party did not mean denying its achievements.

“Democracy is not that if the ruling party is doing well, because you are in opposition, you say they are not doing well. That is not democracy,” he said.

Wike further praised Tinubu for what he described as the political will to address longstanding national challenges, citing the proposed establishment of state police.

He expressed optimism that the proposal would receive legislative approval in the coming months, noting that previous administrations had acknowledged the need for state police but had not established it.

“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,” he said.

The minister also defended the inclusion of politicians from opposition parties in Tinubu’s campaign council, saying the President had indicated that those outside the APC who had something to contribute should be accommodated.