Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has explained why he did not take up the role of Director-General of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 presidential campaign, saying he is not a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and would not risk losing his home state.
Wike spoke on Saturday after inspecting the Apo-Karshi Road and the Kubwa-Bwari Road in Abuja.
His comments came shortly after the Presidency announced former Zamfara State Governor, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, as the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 election.
“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,” Wike said.
According to him, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi lost Rivers while serving as Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign DG, while former Senate President Bukola Saraki lost both Kwara State and his Senate seat after leading Atiku Abubakar’s campaign in 2019.
He also cited Aminu Tambuwal and Simon Lalong, saying both lost their states after serving as campaign directors-general in the 2023 elections.
Wike said he was not prepared to risk losing his state.
He added that his priority was to deliver victory for Tinubu in both the FCT and Rivers State.
He argued that holding the position of campaign Director-General means little if the person cannot secure victory in their own state.
Wike said the possibility of heading the APC Presidential Campaign Council never arose because 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,” he said.
Wike maintained that he remains committed to supporting Tinubu’s re-election, just as he did in 2023.
“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 support for Tinubu is now being coordinated through what he described as a Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party alliance of politicians working for the President’s re-election in their respective states while remaining in their own political parties.
He said the arrangement is already active in states including Kwara, Bayelsa, Rivers, Osun and Benue.
Wike explains why he rejected Tinubu’s 2027 campaign DG role