Wike declares himself ‘commander of field operations’ for Tinubu’s campaign in FCT, Rivers

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, says he will coordinate President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaigns in the FCT and Rivers State ahead of the 2027 general election.

Mr Wike made the declaration on Monday at a stakeholders’ meeting of the Rainbow Coalition in Abuja.

The minister urged members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to work together to secure Mr Tinubu’s re-election.

“For the presidency, all of us have agreed that it is Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I am going to coordinate the FCT and Rivers State. So you can imagine how important it is,” he said.

“I am in charge of the FCT election. I am the commander of field operations as far as the FCT election is concerned.”

During the meeting, PDP National Assembly candidates also declared support for APC candidates in the FCT, signalling a cross-party alliance ahead of the elections.

“I want to let all of you know that we are going to work together. Nobody should say, ‘I am PDP’ or ‘I am APC.’ For the purpose of this election, we are together,” he said.

The former governor cited the 2024 Edo State governorship election as an example of how political alliances could influence electoral outcomes.

He claimed that cooperation between elements of the APC and PDP helped prevent the incumbent governor from installing a successor.

Mr Wike said the experience reinforced his belief that political alliances could succeed when stakeholders agreed on a common objective.

According to him, the arrangement is primarily focused on the presidential election, leaving participating parties to determine their positions on other contests.

He challenged political leaders to identify any of the FCT’s six area councils that had not benefited from the administration’s infrastructure projects and institutional reforms.