Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike said the All Progressives Congress, working through the Rainbow Coalition, will deliver victory for President Bola Tinubu in Nigeria’s 2027 general election. He pledged strong vote returns for Tinubu from Rivers State and the FCT, saying opposition manoeuvres would not disrupt the president’s re-election campaign.
Speaking to Rivers Rainbow Coalition youths in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, the former Rivers governor said infrastructure spending and policy measures by the administration had improved its standing with Nigerians. He argued that elected leaders should be evaluated on delivery and public benefit rather than election-season pledges.
Quick facts
- Wike said the Rainbow Coalition was created to support what he called focused leadership and national development.
- He pointed to road and bridge projects as proof of the administration’s grassroots-oriented agenda.
- Wike said at least 49 Rivers State indigenes currently occupy notable Federal Government positions.
- He instructed campaign organisers to give youths substantial representation on presidential-rally and related committees.
- APC governorship candidate Kingsley Chinda proposed compulsory bursary support by local councils and expanded technical education.
Wike said the coalition’s purpose was to back leadership that produces results and preserves development nationwide. Roads and bridges, he said, demonstrate an effort to improve living conditions, especially for communities outside major urban centres.
“We are not playing politics for the sake of it without bringing benefits to our people,” Wike said. “We are not looking for those who are fine or finer. We are looking for those who will do something that will positively impact Nigerians and the Rivers people.”
The minister said Rivers State’s political direction should be driven by residents’ interests and the gains available to the state from the Federal Government. He said the key questions were Rivers State’s current position, its destination and the practical benefit elections would bring to its people.
He criticised opposition politicians as inconsistent political gamblers who had not shown a reliable commitment to voters. Wike warned residents against candidates who repeatedly make pledges but fail to produce measurable outcomes.
“You cannot vote for a political gambler,” he said. “Every time, they come around making empty promises, but our people know better now.”
Wike said voters would judge candidates by their records and the real-world effect of their policies, rather than campaign language. “We want to win this election with a difference,” he said.
He placed particular emphasis on youth involvement in the coalition’s preparations for 2027. Wike said young people must be properly represented on committees responsible for presidential rallies and other campaign operations, arguing that their participation and energy would be central to the effort.
“The committee for the presidential rally must put a reasonable number of our youths,” he said. He also urged supporters to maintain unity, build grassroots networks and organise voters ahead of the polls.
At the youth meeting, Wike also targeted opposition figures including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State governor Peter Obi. He called Atiku untrustworthy and described Obi as a “fake man,” while reaffirming the coalition’s support for Tinubu’s second-term campaign.
Earlier, Kingsley Chinda, the APC’s Rivers State governorship candidate, said his proposed administration would pursue an inclusive, youth-focused agenda. His plans include mandatory bursary payments by local government councils and stronger technical education and vocational training.
Chinda said investment in young people, education and skills development would be essential to the state’s progress. He thanked Rainbow Coalition Youth members for their support of the movement led by Wike.
He said the gathering was intended to recognise youths who had remained with the political leadership during difficult periods. “Our leader very sincerely appreciates that,” Chinda said. “Even if it is for five or 10 minutes, what we have come to do is to say thank you for what you have done. You are not forgotten. We appreciate you and will continue to appreciate you in different ways.”
Chinda described Wike as supportive of young people and said those aligned with him would continue to advance youth-development policies. He said the Rainbow Coalition would seek to unite political actors in Rivers State, arguing that collective action was needed to meet its objectives.
He declared the coalition’s backing for Tinubu in 2027 and said Rivers youths were ready to organise for the president. “The message we are sending out today is that the youths of Rivers State are unapologetically, unconditionally standing firm with Tinubu for President,” he said.
Chinda said Wike’s political outreach across the state was intended to bring groups together and reinforce the coalition before future contests. He added that a Chinda administration would aim to respond to the needs and ambitions of young people.
Student bursaries would be a major priority, he said, with local government chairmen expected to place student welfare high on their agendas. Chinda said Wike had privately stressed that bursary payments must be treated seriously.
“It will be compulsory for every local government council chairman to take the issues of bursary seriously,” he said. “Compulsory, without compromise.”
He also promised changes to Rivers State’s education system, particularly an expansion of technical and vocational programmes designed to provide young people with practical capabilities.
Chima Aguma, Rivers State coordinator of Rainbow Coalition Youth and South-South coordinator of City Boys, assured Wike that grassroots mobilisation would be mounted for Tinubu and other candidates supported by the coalition.
Justice Uranta, president of the National Union of Rivers State Students, said students would be mobilised across all 23 local government areas, tertiary institutions and the diaspora for Tinubu and Chinda. The groups said they would organise grassroots backing for the president and other Rainbow Coalition-endorsed candidates before the 2027 election.
