.2027: Wike’s 700-man campaign council targets four million votes for Tinubu, says APC chieftain
Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has criticised the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, for demonstrating a lack of faith in Nigeria and disrespecting the national symbols.
This was as an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Rivers State, Princewill Dike, has said the 700-member APC Presidential/Rivers Rainbow Coalition Candidates Campaign Council constituted by Wike, is targeting at least four million votes for President Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.
Wike said Obi’s refusal to stand during the singing of the current national anthem, while standing for an alternative anthem during the NDC rally in Lagos, raised questions about his commitment to national unity and his suitability for the presidency.
The minister spoke yesterday at a stakeholders’ town hall meeting in Ogu-Bolo Local Government Area of Rivers State, organised by the Rainbow Coalition to mobilise support for President Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid and APC candidates.
Wike berated Obi, saying any presidential candidate who disregards the country’s national symbols cannot be trusted with the responsibility of leading the nation.
Wike said, “A whole national anthem of a country is being sung, a man who wants to be President of Nigeria would disobey and sit down. And then not only that, when a different national anthem that is not being used for Nigeria was sung, he stood up.
“In a way, he does not belong to this country. In a way, he has said he does not belong to this country; that if you give him the president, he would do a different thing that will divide Nigeria.
“A man who does not believe in Nigeria, someone who derives joy in ridiculing the country by disrespecting its symbolic national anthem must not be allowed to come near the presidency of our country.”
The FCT minister also questioned Obi’s commitment to the rule of law, citing his alleged failure to conduct local government elections throughout his eight-year tenure as governor of Anambra State.
He further accused the former governor of abandoning political parties whenever internal disagreements arose, rather than remaining within the parties to resolve their differences.
Wike also criticised the opposition coalition involving former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, questioning their records in public office.
He specifically faulted Amaechi’s tenure as Minister of Transportation, raising questions about the state of seaports under his watch. He also alleged that the Government Secondary School, Ogu, was demolished without being rebuilt and that promises concerning a 1,000-bed specialist hospital were not fulfilled.
Urging the people of Ogu-Bolo to look beyond what he described as the political rhetoric of opposition figures, Wike maintained that the Tinubu administration had delivered tangible development to the area.
He cited the construction of the Ogu-Bolo Civic Centre, facilitated through the federal appointment of an indigene of the area, Boma Iyaye, as one of the benefits of the administration’s interventions.
Earlier, the Chairman of Ogu-Bolo Local Government Area, Vincent Nemieboka, said the meeting brought together traditional rulers, community development committee executives, youth leaders, women groups and other stakeholders to reaffirm their support for the Rainbow Coalition.
Nemieboka attributed the community’s support to projects and political appointments secured for indigenes of the area, assuring Wike that the local government remained committed to the coalition.
Also speaking, the Amanyanabo of Bolo, King Acheseinimie Frank, highlighted infrastructure projects being executed in the area through the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), including sand-filling projects, internal road construction and the Kira-Ogu-Bolo Road.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Ogu Divisional Council of Chiefs, Chief Lawrence Abeabiari, pledged the traditional institution’s support for the coalition and its candidates in the 2027 general elections.
In another development, Dike, who spoke in Port Harcourt yesterday, described the council as a strategic grassroots mobilisation structure designed to take the campaign beyond political rallies and directly engage voters across Rivers State.
He said the council’s numerical strength should not be mistaken for a ceremonial political arrangement, stressing that its effectiveness would depend on members’ ability to translate their appointments into tangible grassroots mobilisation.
According to him, Wike’s political approach is rooted in strategic organisation, coalition-building and sustained engagement with the electorate.
“For Wike, politics is more than an occasional engagement; it is a calculated enterprise that demands constant attention, strategic thinking, organisation and an understanding of the dynamics of power,” Dike said.
He explained that members of the council would be expected to embark on door-to-door campaigns and engage different segments of the electorate, including traders, transport operators and residents in their communities.
“The objective is to ensure that political communication extends to every community where eligible voters reside,” he added.
Dike said the initiative was intended to establish a formidable campaign network capable of reaching voters in every part of the state and persuading them to support Tinubu and candidates of the Rivers Rainbow Coalition.
He noted that direct voter engagement, persuasion and personal political relationships would be critical to translating political structures into electoral victories.
The APC chieftain also disclosed that Wike planned to establish campaign councils at the local government and ward levels to broaden participation and strengthen coordination from the state to the grassroots.
Dike expressed optimism that effective implementation of the mobilisation strategy could deliver an unprecedented electoral performance for Tinubu and the Rivers Rainbow Coalition in 2027.
However, he cautioned that the success of the 700-member council would depend not on its size but on the commitment and performance of its members.
“A 700-member council can only justify its size when members demonstrate commitment, discipline, coordination and a willingness to engage voters at the community level,” he said.