Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said he will not help politicians win elections in their respective states.
He stressed that his priority for the 2027 general elections
is to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
Wike made the clarification in a statement issued on Tuesday
by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere
Olayinka.
The minister said his support for Tinubu’s second-term bid
remained firm but insisted that he never promised that the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) would not field candidates for governorship, National Assembly and
State House of Assembly elections.
He said politicians facing challenges in their states should
deal with them locally rather than use the President’s re-election campaign to
create unnecessary political sentiments.
“I won’t be the one to help people to win elections in their
states. Politics is local, and those having problems in their states should
resolve them instead of using the re-election of the President to whip up
sentiments,” Wike said.
The minister also clarified that the rainbow coalition had
no connection with the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to him, the coalition is made up of people from
different political parties who support Tinubu because they believe in his
performance and want him re-elected in 2027.
“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.
Wike recalled that he and other members of the G5 supported
Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election without first meeting with the APC.
He said his position for 2027 remained the same: to support
the President and not to determine which political party should win state-level
elections.
Wike also argued that political support should be built from
the grassroots.
According to him, elections are no longer about relying on
political calculations or coming from a distant position to win a governorship
election.
He cited the 2023 elections in Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi
states as examples of voters supporting different parties in presidential and
legislative elections.
The minister questioned how the APC won two senatorial seats
in Imo in 2023 even though the party received less than 15 per cent of the
presidential votes in the state.
He also pointed to APC victories in National Assembly
elections in Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu, despite the party receiving less than 10
per cent of the presidential votes in some of those states.
“The results showed that voters were capable of separating
presidential and state-level elections,” he said.
He urged political stakeholders to put the presidential
election first and deal with other contests after Tinubu’s re-election.
“After the President must have been re-elected, we can all
go and face elections in our states,” he said.
Wike maintained that his support for Tinubu did not mean
that other political parties would be prevented from contesting elections at
the state and National Assembly levels.
“What I said and stand for is that I will mobilise support
for the re-election of the President. I never promised anyone that PDP will not
field candidates to contest governorship, National Assembly and State House of
Assembly elections,” he said.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com