2027: Wike Speaks On Adeleke’s Visit, Hints At Fresh Coalition

The minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has revealed that there are ongoing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections to form a larger coalition of political parties to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

Wike made the disclosure on Friday in Abuja while speaking with journalists during an inspection of some ongoing projects in the Federal Capital Territory.

His comments came against the backdrop of the recent meeting between President Tinubu and Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State. Recall that Adeleke, who won on the platform of Accord Party, also visited Wike on Thursday evening to present his certificate of return.

Wike described the engagement as a pointer to the emergence of what he called a “larger Rainbow Coalition” ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

According to the minister, Adeleke’s political affiliation outside the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) does not prevent him from supporting Tinubu, just as he himself remains outside the APC while backing the President.

“What happened last night is meeting to rebuild a larger Rainbow Coalition. And he (Adeleke) is supporting Mr President. He’s in a different party; I’m supporting Mr President, and I’m in a different party. So, it’s a larger Rainbow Coalition,” Wike said.

He predicted that the political movement would expand in the coming weeks, urging Nigerians to watch out for further developments.

“And the next few weeks, watch what is going to happen. You will see a larger Rainbow Coalition in this country supporting Mr President,” he added.

Wike also dismissed the notion that there is currently a clearly defined leading opposition party capable of mounting a formidable challenge to Tinubu in 2027.

He argued that the internal crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which ordinarily should constitute the major opposition platform, had weakened the party considerably.

“When you say opposition, I’ve told you I don’t know what you call opposition, as far as there is no opposition now,” he said.

“Ordinarily, it should have been PDP, but because of the crisis we’ve had, and so you can’t see a formidable party that you will call the leading opposition party.”

The minister further dismissed claims by members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that their political activities contributed significantly to Adeleke’s victory in the recent Osun governorship election.

“All those ADC who are talking about ‘they helped Adeleke to win,’ they just wanted to go and harvest where they never planted,” Wike said.

He maintained that the political developments surrounding Adeleke had further strengthened Tinubu’s position ahead of 2027.

Wike also brushed aside concerns over how former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi might interpret his political engagements, insisting that his focus was on securing victory for his political camp.

“I have told you when you say ‘leading opposition,’ I’ve told you that there’s no opposition,” he said.

“What you have are people who are just trying to see whether they can be relevant.”

The FCT minister said the emerging political alignment would make the 2027 contest easier for the President’s camp, stressing that political competition was not about making opponents comfortable.

Meanwhile, Wike said the FCT Administration was working to ensure the timely completion of major infrastructure projects scheduled for delivery this year.

He inspected the N5 Extension in Life Camp, being constructed by Julius Berger, and expressed satisfaction with the pace of work, saying the project would be completed and handed over in December.

He also inspected the N1 Road project being executed by Arab Contractors and commended the quality of work, with the project equally scheduled for handover in December.

At the IBB International Golf Club, which is undergoing rehabilitation following President Tinubu’s intervention, Wike said the facility would be reopened by December.

He said physical completion of the rehabilitation was expected by November, with the facility to formally reopen the following month.

According to him, Julius Berger was re-engaged for the rehabilitation because the company originally constructed the facility and was familiar with its design and specifications.

Wike said the prolonged closure of the golf club had generated concerns among members of the diplomatic community, making its reopening a priority for the administration.

He attributed the closure to an internal crisis at the club, which resulted in the appointment of a caretaker committee headed by the President of the Court of Appeal.

The minister commended the committee for helping to resolve the crisis and facilitating the rehabilitation of the facility.

However, Wike warned that the government would not continue to fund the club after its reopening, insisting that its management must develop sustainable revenue streams to finance operations and maintenance.

“I would believe, this time around, that when this is done, they should be able to raise funds by themselves to run this place. The government should not use public funds to come back to do it,” he said.