That the 2027 presidential election will really be interesting is no longer in doubt. While some with their war chest and capacity are already sure of victory, others are boastful, and threatening fire and brimstone.
This is the case between the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Chapter of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
NDC recently dared the minister, advising him to start drafting his resignation letter ahead of the 2027 presidential election because nothing would stop the party from the wining the federal capital.
The party’s reaction was in response to a bold public declaration made by Wike on September 30 during an interaction with the Apo Mechanics and Traders Association in Abuja. At the occasion, the minister had vowed to resign his cabinet position on January 17, 2027, if President Bola Tinubu fails to secure victory in both the FCT and Rivers State.
Responding to Wike’s challenge, NDC FCT Publicity Secretary, Prince Samuel Iloh, dismissed the minister’s claims as political bravado, insisting that Wike lacked the power to dictate how residents of the nation’s capital would vote.
Iloh said Wike’s confidence was hinged on an “election rigging mechanism,” and noted that FCT voters would actively safeguard their ballots at the polls. He pointed to the 2023 election results as evidence of the territory’s established voting pattern.
According to official INEC records, Labour Party candidate in 2023, Peter Obi, overwhelmingly won the FCT with 281,717 votes, while the APC’s Tinubu trailed with 90,902 votes.
Iloh argued that Wike’s presence in the cabinet would not be able to reverse this established trend.
However, it should be noted that the NDC did not win any of the off-season elections in the FCT or anywhere.
Therefore, the opposition political party needs to massively mobilise and strategise with determination on how to checkmate Wike’s threats, and not embark on empty boast that it will defeat APC when it doesn’t have ordinary councillor in the FCT.
It is common knowledge that Wike is strategising on how to return Tinubu power in 2027 because he had declared the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar and his counterpart in NDC, Peter Obi will come after him if any of them defeats Tinubu.
Therefore, NDC should be proactive and not reactive.