Nigeria: 2027 - Wike Says Support for Tinubu Won't Stop PDP From Fielding Candidates

What the report says

Nigeria’s Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, said he still supports President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, but argued that backing the president does not mean the Peoples Democratic Party will sit out other races. The comments, reported by Leadership and distributed by AllAfrica, were issued in Abuja through Wike’s senior special assistant on public communications and social media, Lere Olayinka.

Wike said he never promised that the PDP would avoid fielding candidates in governorship, National Assembly or state assembly elections. He also pushed back against any suggestion that his position is tied to the ruling All Progressives Congress, saying the so-called “rainbow coalition” is simply a cross-party effort by people who believe Tinubu deserves another term.

The minister used the 2023 elections as evidence that voters can choose different parties at different levels without confusion. He cited examples from several southeastern and eastern states to argue that presidential and legislative outcomes do not necessarily move together. His message was that support for Tinubu should be treated separately from state-level political contests.

The remarks matter because Wike remains a prominent and sometimes divisive figure in Nigerian politics, and his stance reflects shifting alliances ahead of the next general election cycle. As a general matter, Nigeria’s elections often feature party splitting across offices, especially where local political dynamics differ from presidential voting patterns.