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Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), says President Bola Tinubu should remove him from office if he loses the nation’s capital and Rivers state in the 2027 elections.
Wike spoke on Wednesday during a meeting with members of the Apo Traders Association in Abuja, while seeking support for the president ahead of the upcoming elections.
The minister said he could not afford to fail in either territory, noting that his performance in Abuja should earn residents’ support.
“If I cannot deliver where I work [FCT], I am not worthy to be here,” Wike said.
Wike said failure to secure victory for Tinubu in the nation’s capital would suggest that residents are dissatisfied with his stewardship as minister.
“It means that whatever I have been doing here, the people don’t think I’m doing the right thing. If I lose here [FCT], I shouldn’t be in that position. I tell people that. I am a practical person,” he said.
Wike also tied his support for Tinubu’s re-election to the president’s performance in Rivers, saying his backing must translate into victory in the state.
“And if I go back to my state, the president cannot win, so what am I shouting about president when I cannot win [Rivers]? I am also not qualified to be FCT minister,” Wike said.
He challenged other politicians to make similar commitments, saying he had accepted the burden of delivering both Rivers state and the FCT.
“I want other people to take these kinds of challenges. I have taken Rivers state and FCT. Tell the president if I don’t deliver, remove me here. I have said so,” Wike said.
Wike’s comment comes amid a growing rift between him and the All Progressives Governors’ Forum, led by Hope Uzodimma, over the rainbow coalition, a cross-party alliance spearheaded by the minister.
The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) had said it would not endorse any alliance or political arrangements that could undermine Tinubu’s re-election bid or the party’s candidates in the 2027 elections.
In January, Wike, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member, said the coalition is a shift from party politics to a collective political movement focused on advancing the Rivers interests.
