2027: ‘Be ready to resign’ – NDC tells Wike after Tinubu election pledge

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to prepare his resignation following his declaration regarding the 2027 presidential election.

The NDC made the call on Thursday in Abuja while reacting to Wike’s remarks during an engagement with members of the Apo Mechanics and Traders Association on September 30.

Wike had stated that he would resign as FCT Minister on January 17, 2027, if President Bola Tinubu failed to win the presidential election in both the FCT and Rivers State.

Reacting to the declaration, the FCT chapter of the NDC urged the minister to stand by his word and prepare to leave office if the stated electoral outcome occurs.

“If I cannot deliver where I work, then I’m not worthy to be here. If I lose FCT, I’m not supposed to be FCT Minister. By January 17, 2027, I will announce my resignation as FCT Minister should the President lose in Rivers State and the FCT,” Wike said.

Reacting, the NDC FCT Publicity Secretary, Prince Samuel Iloh, said Wike should begin preparing his resignation letter, arguing that the minister could not determine how FCT residents would vote.

Iloh said eligible voters in the territory had the constitutional right to choose their preferred candidates at the polls, adding that the outcome of the election would be determined by voters.

He also dismissed what he described as expectations that Wike’s political mobilisation would automatically translate into electoral victory for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the FCT.

“If not that he is taking Nigeria as a banana republic, how could a politician be making such a claim when he has only one vote to cast for the President in Rivers and not even in the FCT?” he asked.

The NDC spokesman urged FCT residents to participate actively in the January 16, 2027 presidential election and vote for the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, with Rabiu Kwankwaso as his running mate.

He also called on voters to support the party’s National Assembly candidates in the territory, including Amanda Pam for the Senate, as well as Hassan Grema and Adamu Kamal for the House of Representatives.

Iloh further challenged the APC to secure victory in the FCT, recalling that the party’s presidential candidate, Tinubu, came second in the territory in the 2023 presidential election.

According to results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Obi of the Labour Party won the FCT in 2023 with 281,717 votes, while Tinubu polled 90,902 votes and the Peoples Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar scored 74,194 votes.

Iloh said the 2023 result was an indication of the voting pattern in the territory, but added that the outcome of the 2027 election would ultimately be determined by voters.

He urged eligible residents to participate in the electoral process and protect their votes, while expressing confidence in the NDC’s candidates across the FCT.

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