2027: My Support Is Only For Tinubu, Wike Clarifies PDP’s Electoral Plans

2ABUJA — Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has reaffirmed his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reelection in 2027, clarifying that he never promised that the Peoples Democratic Party would not field candidates in other elective positions.

Wike said his commitment was specifically to mobilising support for Tinubu’s second-term bid, stressing that the PDP remained free to field candidates for governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, the minister said the emerging “rainbow coalition” was not an arrangement with the All Progressives Congress but a platform for politicians across party lines who support Tinubu’s reelection.

Wike said he and members of the G5 did not negotiate with the APC before supporting Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, insisting that his position for 2027 remained focused on the President.

He also cautioned politicians against using Tinubu’s reelection bid to settle political disputes in their respective states, saying political issues should be resolved locally.

The minister argued that the voting pattern in the 2023 elections demonstrated that Nigerians could support different parties in presidential and legislative contests held on the same day.

He cited Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi states, where the APC won some National Assembly seats despite recording relatively low presidential votes, asking whether such voting patterns could be attributed to a “rainbow coalition.”

Wike urged political stakeholders to prioritise Tinubu’s reelection before turning their attention to other electoral contests.

“After the President must have been reelected, we can all go and face elections in our States,” he said.

He stressed that his position was to mobilise support across political parties for Tinubu and that he had never promised that the PDP would refrain from fielding candidates in governorship, National Assembly or State House of Assembly elections.

The minister also maintained that electoral victory should be built through genuine grassroots mobilisation and support at polling units, rather than relying solely on political calculations or alliances among party leaders.