Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has explained why he could not have been appointed Director General of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 presidential campaign council.
Wike said his membership status outside the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his desire to retain his political influence in Rivers State made the position unsuitable for him.
The minister spoke on Saturday after inspecting the ongoing construction work on the Apo-Karshi and Kubwa-Bwari roads in Abuja.
His comments came after the Presidency announced the composition of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, with former Zamfara State Governor, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, appointed as the director general.
Wike said he was not interested in taking a position that could distract him from his political responsibilities in Rivers State and the FCT.
He recalled the experiences of several politicians who headed presidential campaign teams but later lost their home states during the elections.
According to him, some former campaign directors general had devoted much of their time to national campaigns but were unable to secure victory in their own states.
He said: “In 2015, the Minister of Transport was the governor of Rivers State. He was the DG of Muhammadu Buhari. Before you knew, I pulled the carpet off his feet. He lost. He didn’t get 25 percent. In 2019, he was Minister of Transport; he became the DG, and he lost his state too. Bukola Saraki was the DG of Atiku campaign in 2019. He was running around doing ‘Atikulated’, I called him, ‘Why are you doing Atikulated? Go home!’ He lost his state! Lost his own seat, too! In 2023, Aminu Tambuwal became DG of Atiku. He lost his state! In the same 2023, Lalong was the DG of APC, the present president. He lost his state!
“I don’t want to lose my state! I will be in my state. I have two states: FCT and Rivers. What is important is that you are able to deliver those two states. So it is not about being DG. If you are DG and you don’t win your state, what is the essence of the DG?
“I am not a member of APC. So the issue of their presidential campaign council is out of the question. 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.
“Mind you, when we formed the Rainbow Coalition, so many parties were coming together, working together in some states to make sure that the President wins.
“Nobody should use that as a yardstick to judge who will be the governor of any state. I think there is only one state that is clear that will produce a governor. It is my state. It is very clear. The other ones, we don’t know what will happen.”
