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President Bola Tinubu L and Nyesom Wike R at a political function in Rivers State in 2023
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said the political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections will produce a “larger rainbow coalition” in support of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
Wike stated this on Friday during an inspection of ongoing projects in the Federal Capital Territory, while reacting to the recent visit of Osun State Governor-elect, Ademola Adeleke, to President Tinubu.
According to the minister, Adeleke’s engagement with Tinubu was a sign of the emergence of what he described as a “larger rainbow coalition” in support of the President ahead of the presidential election.
Wike noted that the emerging political alignment was an opposition matter, insisting that the current political landscape did not have a clearly defined leading opposition party.
“When you say opposition, I’ve told you I don’t know what you call opposition, as far as there is no opposition now,” the minister said.
He noted that Adeleke remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), despite securing his re-election ticket on the platform of the Accord Party.
“What happened last night is a 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,” he said.
Wike hinted at more political developments to be expected in the coming weeks and aimed at increasing support for Tinubu.
“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 said.
Reacting to 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 on August 15, 2026, the former Rivers State governor said, “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 Adeleke’s support for Tinubu has strengthened the President’s position ahead of 2027.
While reacting to questions on how former vice president Atiku Abubakar and a former Anambra governor Peter Obi might perceive his engagement with Adeleke, the minister insisted that “there’s no opposition”.
“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.”
“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 added.
FCT Projects
Earlier, the minister said the project inspection was part of efforts to ensure that key infrastructure earmarked for completion this year was delivered on schedule.
He inspected the N5 Extension in Life Camp, being executed by Julius Berger, and expressed satisfaction with the progress of work, adding that the project was expected to be completed and handed over in December.
Wike also inspected the N1 Road project being executed by Arab Contractors.
He described the quality of work as high and confirmed that it was also scheduled for handover in December.
He subsequently inspected the IBB International Golf Club, which is undergoing rehabilitation following intervention by President Tinubu.
“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 explained that Julius Berger was re-engaged because the company originally constructed the facility and had the requisite knowledge of its design and standards.
According to him, physical completion is expected by November, allowing the club to reopen officially in December.
The minister said the golf club was shut following an internal crisis, which led to the appointment of a caretaker committee headed by the President of the Court of Appeal.
He commended the committee for its efforts in resolving the crisis and facilitating the rehabilitation of the facility.
Wike, however, said the government would not continue to bankroll the club after its reopening.
He said the management must generate sufficient revenue to sustain its operations and maintenance without relying on public funds.
“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 minister said. “The government should not use public funds to come back to do it.” (Channels)