I won’t help anyone win elections in their states – Wike

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said he will not help politicians win elections in their respective states.

He stressed that his priority for the 2027 general elections is to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.

Wike made the clarification in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka.

The minister said his support for Tinubu’s second-term bid remained firm but insisted that he never promised that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would not field candidates for governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.

He said politicians facing challenges in their states should deal with them locally rather than use the President’s re-election campaign to create unnecessary political sentiments.

“I won’t be the one to help people to win elections in their states. Politics is local, and those having problems in their states should resolve them instead of using the re-election of the President to whip up sentiments,” Wike said.

The minister also clarified that the rainbow coalition had no connection with the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to him, the coalition is made up of people from different political parties who support Tinubu because they believe in his performance and want him re-elected in 2027.

“Rainbow coalition has nothing to do with the APC. Rather, it is our own way of mobilising support across political parties for Mr President, who has done well to deserve a second term,” Wike said.

Wike recalled that he and other members of the G5 supported Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election without first meeting with the APC.

He said his position for 2027 remained the same: to support the President and not to determine which political party should win state-level elections.

Wike also argued that political support should be built from the grassroots.

According to him, elections are no longer about relying on political calculations or coming from a distant position to win a governorship election.

He cited the 2023 elections in Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi states as examples of voters supporting different parties in presidential and legislative elections.

The minister questioned how the APC won two senatorial seats in Imo in 2023 even though the party received less than 15 per cent of the presidential votes in the state.

He also pointed to APC victories in National Assembly elections in Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu, despite the party receiving less than 10 per cent of the presidential votes in some of those states.

“The results showed that voters were capable of separating presidential and state-level elections,” he said.

He urged political stakeholders to put the presidential election first and deal with other contests after Tinubu’s re-election.

“After the President must have been re-elected, we can all go and face elections in our states,” he said.

Wike maintained that his support for Tinubu did not mean that other political parties would be prevented from contesting elections at the state and National Assembly levels.

“What I said and stand for is that 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,” he said.