Wike has always backed Tinubu, says aide

Lere Olayinka, media aide to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has dismissed claims that the minister betrayed anyone by supporting President Bola Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election.

Olayinka said Wike never hid his support for Tinubu. He pointed out that Wike made his stance clear even before the Peoples Democratic Party named its presidential candidate, Professor Sunday Oloruntuyi.

He spoke during an interview on Arise TV on Friday.

When asked about Wike being called “treacherous,” Olayinka said that description was wrong. He explained that a treacherous person pretends to be a friend while acting against you.

He said, “The word ‘treacherous’, I don’t believe he should have used it because, to my own understanding, a treacherous person is somebody who is doing something against you behind you and presenting himself to be your friend.

“The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has never hidden his position. He said it even before PDP presented Professor Sandy Onor as candidate, that he was going to support President Tinubu in 2027. He did not hide it, and up till now, he has not hidden it. He has been saying it.”

Olayinka also mentioned that Wike told Onor he could run for the election. But he said the state of the PDP would make it hard for them to succeed.

He argued that not every candidate expects to win. Some join elections just to make their presence known.

He said, “For instance, in this 2027 election, we have 19 presidential candidates. Can we say, honestly, that all the 19 are contesting with the mindset of winning? The answer is no.”

Olayinka pointed to the African Action Congress presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, who got 14,600 votes in the 2023 election. He questioned how Sowore could win the 2027 election.

He also doubted the strength of the New Nigeria Peoples Party. He claimed it does not have governorship candidates in 15 of the 28 states where elections will hold in 2027.

“How do you win an election when you don’t have people on ground to canvass votes for you, to manage elections for you?” he asked.

Olayinka raised similar concerns about the African Democratic Congress. He noted it lacks governorship candidates in nine of the 28 states.

He said political parties need strong structures and polling-unit agents to compete well. He noted Nigeria has 176,846 polling units.

“In Nigeria today, there are 176,846 polling units. To make a good impression on election day, you need at least five people to manage each polling unit for you, at least,” he said.

The Wike aide maintained that the minister believes Tinubu will have an easy win in 2027. He based this on what he sees as the weakness of the opposition.

“And that’s why the Minister has been saying consistently that this election of 2027 will be the easiest for the President to win, because there’s no opposition, nobody is contesting against him to win. Others are contesting to make an impression,” Olayinka said.