Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has explained why he declined to serve as Director-General of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 presidential campaign.
According to him, he would not accept a position that could jeopardise his political influence in Rivers.
Wike spoke on Saturday after inspecting the ongoing construction of the Apo-Karshi and Kubwa-Bwari roads in Abuja.
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His remarks came shortly after the Presidency announced former Zamfara State Governor, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, as the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 election.
Wike said political relevance should not be measured by the position an individual occupies in a campaign organisation, but by the ability to deliver electoral victory in one’s state.
“Political relevance is not about the position you hold in a campaign. What matters is your ability to deliver your state. We have seen campaign DGs in the past who went on to lose their own states,” he said.
The minister cited former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, who served as Director-General of the Muhammadu Buhari campaign but lost Rivers State, as well as former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who lost Kwara State and his Senate seat after leading Atiku Abubakar’s 2019 presidential campaign.
He also mentioned former Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, and former Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, as examples of politicians who served as campaign directors-general but lost their respective states during the 2023 elections.
Wike said he was unwilling to take such a risk, stressing that his priority was to ensure victory for Tinubu in both the Federal Capital Territory and Rivers State.
According to him, serving as campaign DG would amount to little if the person could not secure victory in his home state.
He also ruled out the possibility of heading the APC Presidential Campaign Council, noting that he is not a member of the ruling party.
“I am not a member of APC. So the issue of their Presidential Campaign Council is out of the question,” Wike said.
The former Rivers governor, however, reaffirmed his support for Tinubu’s re-election bid, saying he backed the President in 2023 without being a member of the APC campaign council.
“When we were fighting for the President to be president in 2023, we were not members of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, but we were fighting. We had our own strategies on how the President would emerge,” he said.
Wike said his current support for Tinubu is being coordinated through a political arrangement he described as the “Rainbow Coalition”.
According to him, the coalition comprises politicians from different political parties who are working for Tinubu’s re-election while remaining members of their respective parties.
He said the arrangement is already operational in states including Kwara, Bayelsa, Rivers, Osun and Benue.
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