Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), says his team does not need the backing of a sitting governor to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu in Rivers state ahead of the 2027 elections.
While speaking on Saturday in Port Harcourt during the inauguration of the ‘renewed hope ambassadors’ headquarters’, Wike said his team has what it takes to deliver support for Tinubu’s re-election in the state.
Wike, who commended Desmond Akawor, coordinator of Rivers’ renewed hope ambassadors, for his mobilisation drive, said the state would work massively for the re-election of the president.
“Desmond Akawor, you have shown enough capacity to mobilise; you have moved to all the nooks and crannies of Rivers to talk about Tinubu for president in 2027,” he said.
“I have said before that Rivers state is a no-go area, and I want to say again that this state is totally for Tinubu.
“We have made sure that all the 23 local governments and zonal coordinators were inaugurated; that day Nigerians all over the world watched that Rivers state is a no-go area.
“Today, the renewed hope ambassadors’ coordinator has also invited us to commission some vehicles that the headquarters of the Secretariat will use and to commission the secretariat itself; this is the first of its kind in this part of the country.
“I challenge anybody; let them come to Rivers state and learn. Our commitment is not by mouth, our commitment is not by newspaper; ours is by showing that, yes indeed, we are working for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We don’t need to have a governor to mobilise for Mr President; we don’t need it. We have all it takes to be on our own. We have senators, assembly people, council chairmen, national assembly members, and party chairmen of APC and PDP. We have mobilised ourselves to make a commitment. If you say you are supporting somebody, there is no need for the person to bring his resources; you have to make a commitment, and this is what our leaders have done.”
Wike criticised governors whom he accused of supporting betrayal in River state, adding that they will also be betrayed by their successors.
The FCT minister was making a veiled reference to Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers. Both politicians have been at loggerheads over the political control of the state.
The FCT minister, a former Rivers governor, played a key role in Fubara’s election.
