Wike Backs Tinubu For 2027 But Says Support Does Not Extend To APC
FCT Minister Nyesom Wike says his support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 is firm but does not mean he will back APC candidates in governorship and legislative contests.
Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike has declared his support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, while making clear that his backing does not extend automatically to candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress in other elections.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: OK Movement Rejects NDC Merger, Retains Ughulu As Director-General
Wike said his position was specifically about Tinubu’s presidential bid and should not be interpreted as an agreement for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party to abandon governorship, National Assembly or State House of Assembly contests.
The former Rivers State governor made his position known in a statement delivered through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, as political manoeuvring intensifies ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
“I will mobilise support for the re-election of the President. I never promised anyone that PDP will not field candidates to contest governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections,” Wike said.
‘My Support Is For The President’
Wike, a senior figure in the PDP who serves in Tinubu’s administration, said his political support should not be interpreted as wholesale backing for the APC.
He also sought to clarify discussions around an emerging “rainbow coalition”, saying it was not an APC initiative but a platform through which politicians from different parties could mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election.
Wike pointed to the 2023 presidential election, when he and other members of the PDP’s G5 group supported Tinubu without formally aligning themselves with the APC.
He said the same principle would guide his approach to the 2027 elections.
Wike argued that presidential and state-level elections should be treated separately because “politics is local”.
He also said politicians struggling to secure support in their respective states should address those challenges themselves rather than expect Tinubu’s presidential campaign to resolve their local political problems.
Wike Points To Split Voting In 2023
Wike cited voting patterns in Nigeria’s Southeast during the 2023 elections to support his argument that voters can back one party for president while choosing candidates from another party in legislative contests.
He questioned how the APC managed to win two senatorial seats in Imo State despite receiving less than 15% of the presidential vote in the state.
Wike also pointed to APC victories in National Assembly elections in Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu, where he said Tinubu received less than 10% of the presidential vote.
“Was it a rainbow coalition? Were the voters confused?” Wike asked.
He argued that the results demonstrated that voters were capable of making different choices across ballots held during the same election cycle.
According to Wike, the same voting behaviour could emerge in 2027, with supporters from different political parties backing Tinubu for president while continuing to support their own parties in state and legislative races.
Wike Says Tinubu Re-Election Comes First
Wike urged political stakeholders supporting Tinubu to concentrate first on securing the president’s re-election before turning their attention to political contests in individual states.
“After the President has been re-elected, we can all go and face elections in our States,” he said.
He also rejected suggestions that political calculations for 2027 should be based primarily on candidates’ previous electoral positions.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: OK Movement Rejects NDC Merger, Retains Ughulu As Director-General
Instead, Wike said electoral success would depend on building genuine support at polling-unit level.
“Politics is no longer about coming from fourth position to be governor; it is about genuinely mobilising support and winning elections from the polling units,” he said.
Wike’s position highlights the increasingly complex political alliances taking shape ahead of the 2027 elections, with politicians from different parties exploring arrangements that could cross traditional party lines.
His declaration also reinforces his unusual political position: remaining associated with the opposition PDP while serving as a minister under a president elected on the APC ticket.
For Wike, however, the distinction is explicit — his commitment for 2027 is to Tinubu’s presidential re-election, not to an across-the-board electoral victory for the APC.
