Why I Won’t Be APC Campaign DG – Wike

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has explained why he would not accept the position of Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council ahead of the 2027 election, despite his support for President Tinubu.

Wike stated this on Saturday after inspecting the two major road projects in the FCT, expressing satisfaction with the pace and quality of work by the contractors.

He said his decision was based on lessons from previous elections, recalling that several campaign directors-general in past presidential elections lost their home states.

The minister noted that in 2015, the then Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, served as Director-General of Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign but lost Rivers State.

“In 2015, the Minister of Transport was the governor of Rivers State. He was the DG of Muhammadu Buhari. Before you know, I pulled the carpet off his feet. He lost. He didn’t get 25 per cent,” Wike said.

He also cited the 2019 presidential election, when Amaechi again served as campaign director-general but lost Rivers State, while former Senate President Bukola Saraki, who headed Atiku Abubakar’s campaign, lost Kwara State.

Wike further recalled that former Sokoto State governor Aminu Tambuwal, who served as Atiku’s campaign DG in 2023, lost Sokoto State, while former Plateau State governor Simon Lalong, who headed the APC campaign, also lost his state.

“I don’t want to lose my state!” Wike said amid laughter.

He added that his priority was to ensure victory for the president in the FCT and Rivers State rather than occupy a campaign position.

“I have two states: FCT and my state. What is important is that you are able to deliver those two states? So it’s not about being DG. If you’re DG and you don’t win your state, what’s the essence of the DG?” he said.

According to Wike, political leaders should be judged by their ability to deliver electoral victories in their respective states.

“Every politics is local. If you cannot deliver the president in your state, how will you say you want an election? If you lose your own state, even if you’re DG, you’ll be ashamed,” he said.

Wike also reiterated that he is not a member of the APC, despite his support for President Tinubu and his involvement in the political realignment ahead of the 2027 election.

He said he had supported Tinubu in 2023 without being a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council and that the emerging political arrangement would not necessarily require members of different parties to formally join the APC.

“I am not a member of APC. So the issue of their Presidential Campaign Council… 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.

“So, we had our own strategies on how the president would emerge,” he said.

Wike described the emerging political arrangement as a “Rainbow Coalition,” involving politicians and political groups from different parties working together in various states to support President Tinubu.

He cited the example of Kwara Central Senator Saliu Mustapha, who, according to Wike, is contesting under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while also supporting the president at the presidential level.

“That is the kind of thing we’re talking about Rainbow Coalition, and it’s taking place in most of the states, either in Bayelsa, either in Benue, so many,” Wike said.

He stressed that membership of the APC Presidential Campaign Council should not be used as a measure of who would win governorship elections in the states.

“Nobody should use that as a yardstick to judge who will be the governor of any state,” he said.

Wike declared that Rivers State remained the one state where he was certain of the political outcome, while other states remained open.

“I think there’s only one state that’s clear that will produce a governor. It’s my state. It’s very clear. The other ones, we don’t know what will happen,” he said.

He concluded by saying that he would personally coordinate the political campaign in Rivers State and the FCT rather than seek a formal position in the APC presidential campaign structure.

“Who will be in charge of the Rivers State campaign? There is nothing like the APC Campaign Director in Rivers State election, no. I am the one that’s in charge. I’m also the one that’s in charge of FCT, so that’s how it is,” Wike said.