Tinubu’s Re-election Campaign Not Limited To APC Members – Wike

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has expressed satisfaction with his inclusion in the campaign team for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election, despite not being a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Wike said the decision to accommodate him and other non-APC members reflected Tinubu’s willingness to build support for his second-term bid beyond the ruling party.

The minister spoke on Tuesday during his monthly media parley in Abuja, where he explained that the arrangement was intended to bring together individuals from different political backgrounds who were willing to support the president’s re-election.

According to him, Tinubu recognised that some people outside the APC had contributions to make towards his electoral ambition and considered it necessary to include them in the campaign structure.

“So my thinking is that the president said, look, there are those who are not members of our political parties, but have something to offer for his re-election, and it will be proper to accommodate them so that we are able to offer whatever they may call it,” he said.

Wike said the arrangement brought APC members and supporters of the president from other political parties together around a common electoral objective.

“Some don’t want to see the word coalition, but if you see that word PBAT slash APC, were the members of the party, and supporters of Mr President working together to achieve one purpose,” he added.

The minister cited Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke as examples of non-APC governors involved in coordinating support for Tinubu’s re-election in their respective states.

“You can see Professor Soludo, Governor of Anambra State, who is the coordinator for Anambra State. You can see Governor Adeleke, who is not a member of APC, but the coordinator for Mr President, and then my humble self, who is not a member of APC, but a strong coordinator for the president in Rivers and the FCT,” Wike said.

He maintained that the president’s re-election campaign should not be treated as an exclusive affair of the APC, arguing that supporters from other political parties also had a role to play.

“It tells you that it’s not necessarily just APC. Like we are saying that the re-election of Mr President should not just be about the APC,” he said.

Wike added that the inclusion of politicians from outside the ruling party reflected the existence of cross-party support for Tinubu’s continued stay in office.

“So that is giving holistic view that there are those who are ready for Mr President to be elected to continue the good work we think he is doing for Nigeria. Frankly speaking, we are happy to be part of it,” he said.