Nyesom Wike has drawn a hard line for APC governors ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election, warning that they cannot claim victory for President Bola Tinubu nationally if they fail to deliver their own states at the polls.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory turned the spotlight on the ruling party governors’ electoral responsibilities and exposing a central tension in the president’s re-election campaign: who takes the credit for victory?

“I want to say, if you don’t deliver your states and the president wins, don’t say we’ve won. It’s not a question of whether I am chairman, secretary or member of this. What is important is for the president to win,” he said.

The minister added that he had told the President’s Chief of Staff that a failure to secure Lagos State for Tinubu should not be presented as a collective victory.

“I told the Chief of Staff to the President, if the president doesn’t win in Lagos, don’t say we’ve won,” Wike said.

He also pledged to mobilise support for Tinubu in Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory, declaring that both territories would deliver substantial votes for the president.

“By the grace of God, Rivers and FCT will vote massively for Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.

Wike’s remarks come amid growing tensions between him and several APC governors over his Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party political arrangement designed to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election while allowing participating politicians to pursue their interests in other elections.

The arrangement has drawn objections from some APC governors, who fear that political alliances operating outside the party’s formal structure could undermine their candidates in the 2027 general elections.

The minister, a prominent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) figure, has maintained that his support for Tinubu does not prevent the PDP from fielding candidates for governorship, legislative and other elective positions.

His position has intensified the debate over whether support for the president can coexist with political competition against the APC at state and constituency levels.

Wike has previously criticised some APC governors over their electoral performances, questioning how the party could win legislative seats in a state without securing comparable support for Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.

At Wednesday’s event, he also defended the Tinubu administration’s record, arguing that previous governments had recognised Nigeria’s challenges but failed to provide adequate solutions. He said democracy also required an opposition capable of identifying problems rather than criticising the government simply because it was in power.

He further praised Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke for attending the event, describing their presence as a reflection of the support Tinubu was attracting ahead of the next presidential election.