The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has predicted the emergence of a larger political coalition in support of President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking in Abuja on Friday during an inspection of ongoing FCT projects, Wike said Governor Ademola Adeleke’s engagement with the president is part of growing “Rainbow Coalition” of politicians backing Tinubu across party lines.
He also predicted that more politicians would join the alliance in the coming weeks.
“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.
According to Wike, Adeleke, despite belonging to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is among politicians supporting 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.
“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 dismissed claims by members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that the party and other opposition groups played a decisive role in Adeleke’s electoral victory.
“All those ADC who are talking about ‘they helped Adeleke to win,’ they just wanted to go and harvest where they never planted,” he said.
Asked about possible reactions from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi to Adeleke’s meeting with Tinubu, Wike said their opinions were not his concern.
He said, “I have told you when you say ‘leading opposition’ I’ve told you that there’s no opposition.
“What you have are people who are just trying to see whether they can be relevant.”
Wike attributed the weakness of the PDP to its prolonged internal crisis.
“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,” he said.
During the project inspection, Wike said the FCT Administration was monitoring the progress of major infrastructure projects scheduled for completion before the end of the year.
He inspected the N5 Extension in Life Camp, being constructed by Julius Berger, and the N1 Road project being handled by Arab Contractors. He said both projects remained on course for completion in December.
Wike also inspected the rehabilitation of the IBB International Golf Club, which has remained closed following an internal crisis.
“That this golf course must be ready and be reopened by December. So we are giving it to Julius Berger to ensure that everything is done. And by December this year, the golf course will be reopened,” he said.
He said Julius Berger was re-engaged because the company originally built the facility and was familiar with its design.
According to Wike, rehabilitation work is expected to be completed by November ahead of the planned reopening in December.
The minister said the golf club had been shut after an internal dispute, following which a caretaker committee headed by the President of the Court of Appeal was appointed.
He added that the government would not continue funding the facility after it reopens, saying it should generate enough revenue to cover its operating and maintenance costs.
“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.
(The Whistler)
