Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, on Thursday, formally inaugurated the 2027 All Progressives Congress (APC)/Rainbow Coalition Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Port Harcourt, Wike tasked the over 700-member council with mobilising grassroots support to deliver three million votes for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
The minister, who is the Coordinator of the Tinubu Campaign Council in Rivers and leader of the Rainbow Coalition, urged council members to abandon conventional, ceremonial rally-style politics in favour of aggressive door-to-door and community-based mobilisation.
“We are going to depart from that ceremonial campaign style of converging in one place and saying we are holding a rally,
Rather, we are going to go out to communities, to family meetings, to age-grade meetings and to the markets to talk to them vigorously. Tell them why Tinubu should be re-elected,” he said.
To achieve the three-million-vote target, the former Rivers governor assigned a daily quota to each council member.
“You must be found working. Take it as a point of duty: every day, I will get at least five voters who will vote for Tinubu and members of the National Assembly.
“If you multiply the number of people you win daily by the members of this council and the sub-committees, that is how we will hit the target,” he said.
Wike also announced that local government campaign councils across the state would be inaugurated within one week, and that sub-committee chairpersons and members would be finalised by Monday. Addressing concerns from party members whose names were omitted from the central council, he reassured them that the core of the campaign is within the sub-committees, where additional members would be included. Wike described the coalition model, which brings together members of the APC, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP), as the surest mathematical path to victory, noting that pooling votes across party lines would guarantee an overwhelming margin for the president.
He dismissed a recent disclaimer from an individual claiming not to be part of the council, clarifying that the position belonged to another person with the same name. Urged members to remain focused on issue-based campaigns in the state, highlighting the Tinubu administration’s achievements and warning them not to be distracted by the opposition’s provocations.
In his remarks, Gov. Siminalayi Fubara affirmed his full commitment to the coalition, describing the newly inaugurated council as larger and better coordinated than the structure that secured victory in 2023, and said former political adversaries had now closed ranks to work together for the state and the president.
“Nothing is impossible. The only thing that is not possible is to revive the dead. If we take this as a serious task that must be achieved, we will come out decisively with a stronger vote than what we did in 2023,” he said.
The governor warned against double-dealing, urging members to act with sincerity rather than profess loyalty publicly while undermining efforts privately. “Anywhere, any day, in private and in secret: I have taken this position,” Fubara affirmed, echoing Wike’s assurance that omitted supporters would be accommodated in the sub-committees.
Earlier, the Director of Administration for the campaign council, Amb. Desmond Akawor, noted that the council’s foot soldiers were primed to crisscross all 6,866 polling units across the state.
Akawor said the state’s elders have committed to delivering three million votes to Tinubu, stating that the campaign is fully prepared to reach every part of the state.
