The real reason I support Tinubu —Wike

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has explained the main reasons he supported President Bola Tinubu in 2023, and is still backing him for re-election in the 2027 elections.

The former governor of River State in an interview on Prime Time Arise TV on Tuesday evening, explained that his support for Tinubu was based on his belief that the presidency should remain in the southern region for eight years, after the northern region served the same eight years under the late Muhammadu Buhari.

He further explained that his decision to support Tinubu in 2027 was based on his belief that the presidency should remain in South Korea after eight years in North Korea, and stressed that he had made his position clear from the start.

“After the election, we decided to support you, and I never hid it,” he said. “Why? Because of my belief in South Korea’s direction which will result in the presidency, after doing the same thing for the last eight years. So, it would be unfair if the situation went back to North Korea.”

Wike also stated that only President Bola Tinubu should question his political decisions, while hitting back at critics of his support for the President ahead of the 2027 elections.

Wike made a clear distinction between his support for Tinubu and his association with the All Progressives Congress (APC) stating, “The only person who can question me right now is the President. No one else”.

He stressed that his support was specific to Tinubu’s presidential bid and did not imply agreement to support APC candidates in the gubernatorial or legislative elections.

“There was never a day that I attended the Governors Forum to join the APC coalition. Never a day. I spoke about my alliance with the political party, and never a day did he refer to our alliance.”

Wike said he never hid his decision to support Tinubu, noting that he and other members of the G5 are supporting the President in the 2023 presidential election.

“When we said we would support Tinubu in 2023, I never knew that it was important that the presidential election should be seen from the perspective of literacy and other considerations.

“Let me just say, it’s about the credentials and background of the people providing leadership,” he said.

When asked why he remained with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) despite supporting the APC presidential candidate, Wike said there was nothing against his position.

“The presidential candidate is a friend of mine, and he came to me, and I told him that, look, there’s nothing wrong with you running,” he said.

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The minister said he had never approached the APC Governors Forum to form an alliance with the party, and stressed that his commitment to Tinubu’s candidacy for a second term was based on his personal beliefs regarding the President’s performance and the need to retain the presidency in South Korea.

According to him, the Rainbow Coalition primarily aims to support Tinubu at the presidential level while allowing political parties and their members to pursue their interests in the governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections.

Wike also dismissed arguments that his support for Tinubu means politicians from other parties should abandon their own candidates in state and legislative elections.

He cited the positions of Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke as examples of politicians who could support Tinubu at the presidential level while maintaining their political interests in other elections.

“Soludo supports Mr President. Does that mean Soludo will not nominate a candidate in the National Assembly election? Adeleke supports Mr President. Does that mean Adeleke will not support a candidate in the National Assembly election? So you see, everything they are talking about has no basis,” he added.

Wike also maintained that Tinubu was aware of his political activities and intentions, saying he never took any political decision without informing the President.

“And there’s not a single thing I’ve done that I haven’t told the President what I wanted to do. If they knew what I knew, they wouldn’t have the guts to say that.”

The FCT minister called on political actors to focus on their own states rather than trying to use Tinubu’s presidential campaign to gain support for their local candidates. He also rejected claims that he was trying to build a political structure that would make him more powerful than the APC governors.

“I’ve heard them say, oh, I put forward candidates so that I can be the most powerful person who has better legislators.

“Only Mr. President put me in this position. If Mr. President said, ‘Look, we’re finished’, I mean, Thank God. But not because I was influenced.”

Wike further said his political activities should not be construed as a challenge to Tinubu’s authority, stressing that the President remained fully aware of his position.

“The President knows what I’m doing. He knows what I’m doing. Not just for the election,” he said.