FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has drawn a clear line around his political position ahead of the 2027 elections, saying his commitment is to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election and does not amount to a promise that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will abandon contests for governorship and legislative seats.
Wike said his support for Tinubu remains “sacrosanct”, but stressed that he never agreed that the PDP would stop fielding candidates in governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.
The former Rivers State governor made the clarification amid continuing political realignments ahead of the 2027 elections, particularly over the activities of the emerging “rainbow coalition” backing Tinubu across party lines.
The development comes as political groups and individual politicians increasingly position themselves ahead of 2027. The Bureau Journal’s 2027 elections guide examines the electoral reforms and major political issues expected to shape the next general election.
Wike: Rainbow Coalition Is Not APC
According to Wike, the coalition supporting Tinubu’s re-election should not be confused with the APC or interpreted as an arrangement under which other political parties would surrender their electoral contests.
He described the rainbow coalition as a platform bringing together members of different political parties who believe that Tinubu deserves another term based on what they consider his performance in office.
“Most importantly, 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 in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka.
The clarification could become significant as opposition and ruling-party politicians continue to negotiate alliances that may affect both the presidential race and contests at state and legislative levels.
Across the country, political support groups are already building structures around Tinubu’s 2027 bid. The Bureau Journal recently examined the growing role of political communication and grassroots mobilisation in Tinubu’s 2027 campaign structure.
‘I Never Promised PDP Would Not Field Candidates’
Wike was emphatic that his support for Tinubu should not be interpreted as an agreement to weaken the PDP in other elections.
“What I said and stand for is that I will mobilise support for the reelection of the President. I never promised anyone that PDP will not field candidates to contest governorship, National Assembly and States House of Assembly elections,” he said.
His position effectively separates the presidential contest from the numerous governorship and legislative battles that will take place on the same electoral cycle.
That distinction is particularly important for politicians operating across party lines, where an alliance around a presidential candidate does not necessarily mean surrendering the political structures or candidates of individual parties.
Wike Says Politics Is Still Local
The minister also rejected what he described as attempts to use Tinubu’s re-election campaign to resolve political disputes in individual states.
He maintained that politicians facing problems in their states should resolve them locally instead of expecting the presidential election to settle their internal battles.
“Politics is local and those having problems in their States should resolve them instead of using the reelection of the President to whip up sentiments,” Wike said.
His comments reflect the increasingly complex nature of the 2027 political calculations, where alliances may be national at the presidential level but considerably different when voters choose governors, senators and members of state assemblies.
The distinction is already visible in different states, where candidates and political groups are simultaneously seeking support for Tinubu while building separate structures for their own contests. A recent Bureau Journal report, for instance, examined an APC Assembly candidate’s mobilisation for Tinubu alongside the party’s state-level candidates in Kebbi.
Wike Points to 2023 Voting Pattern
To buttress his argument, Wike pointed to the voting patterns recorded during the 2023 elections, when voters in several South-East states supported candidates from different political parties in presidential and legislative contests held on the same day.
He specifically cited Imo State, where the APC won two Senate seats despite the party receiving less than 15 per cent of the presidential vote in the state.
“In Imo State under Governor Hope Uzodinma, how did APC win two senate seats in 2023, in an election held the same day with that of the President and APC had less than 15 percent in the presidential election? Was it rainbow coalition? Were the voters confused?” Wike asked.
He also referred to the APC’s victories in National Assembly elections in Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu, despite Tinubu recording relatively low presidential vote shares in those states.
For Wike, those results demonstrate that Nigerian voters can make different choices at different levels of an election.
‘Voters Won’t Be Confused in 2027’
The FCT minister argued that the voting patterns of 2023 provide evidence that support for Tinubu at the presidential level does not automatically translate into support for APC candidates contesting other positions.
“If in 2023, the voters in Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi voted APC in the Senatorial election and voted another party in the presidential election, they won’t be confused in 2027 provided we all support the President genuinely this time?” he said.
His argument presents the 2027 election as potentially involving multiple layers of political choice, even where parties form alliances around the presidency.
Wike Wants Presidential Election Put First
Wike said political stakeholders should prioritise Tinubu’s re-election before turning their attention to the contests for state and legislative offices.
“After the President must have been reelected, we can all go and face elections in our States,” he said.
The statement reinforces Wike’s long-standing position that his political support for Tinubu is separate from any commitment to the APC as a party.
It also distinguishes his current position from the political arrangement that saw him and other members of the G5 governors oppose the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, during the 2023 election.
The wider political landscape is already producing competing presidential and sub-national alliances. The Bureau Journal recently examined Atiku Abubakar’s economic pitch as the former vice-president positions himself for the 2027 presidential contest.
From the G5 to Another Presidential Alliance
Wike recalled that he and other members of the G5 did not hold a formal meeting with the APC before supporting Tinubu in 2023.
His point is that political support for a presidential candidate can exist independently of a formal alliance with the candidate’s political party.
That distinction remains central to his argument as 2027 approaches.
While Wike is openly campaigning for Tinubu’s return, he is making it clear that his position does not require PDP politicians to surrender their own electoral ambitions in their states.
That makes his latest statement particularly relevant to the future of the PDP, which faces the challenge of balancing internal political ambitions with the competing interests of members who may support Tinubu at the presidential level.
The Bigger 2027 Political Calculation
Wike’s latest comments could have implications for how the emerging coalition is understood by politicians and voters ahead of the next general election.
A presidential alliance involving politicians from different parties may produce a broad base of support for Tinubu without necessarily creating a single electoral platform for every other contest.
For the PDP, that leaves open the possibility of maintaining candidates in states and legislative constituencies while individual members or factions separately support Tinubu at the presidential level.
For the APC, meanwhile, the distinction means that presidential support from politicians outside the party should not automatically be interpreted as an agreement to transfer their political structures to APC candidates.
The ruling party itself is simultaneously consolidating its own structures ahead of 2027. The Bureau Journal has published the emerging APC senatorial candidates and the political contests taking shape across the country.
Wike’s message is therefore straightforward: his 2027 political commitment is to helping Tinubu win the presidency, while the battles for governors’ mansions, Senate seats and State House of Assembly positions remain separate contests.
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