Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has declared that ensuring President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 is his priority.
The minister also defended his cross-party political alliance amid speculation over a court judgment involving Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma and former governor Rochas Okorocha.
Wike made the remarks during a live media chat on Thursday, where he also denied having any connection with the Federal High Court judgment that recognised Okorocha as the All Progressives Congress candidate for Imo West Senatorial District in the 2027 general election.
The minister dismissed suggestions that he influenced the ruling, describing attempts to link him to the case as mischievous.
“First of all, anybody calling my name is being mischievous. I didn’t go to court. I’m not in APC. I don’t know what the issue is,” he said.
The controversy followed a judgment delivered on October 29 by the Federal High Court in Abuja, directing the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise Okorocha as the APC candidate for the senatorial district.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu ruled that Okorocha won the party’s primary conducted on May 18, 2026, and ordered INEC to replace Uzodimma’s name with that of the former governor.
The case was instituted by Okorocha, who challenged INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as the winner of the primary. The Imo APC chapter has disputed the judgment, while Uzodimma has indicated plans to appeal.
Wike also criticised a reported warning by Uzodimma against politicians promoting the proposed Rainbow Coalition in Imo State, describing the alleged threat to seize their vehicles as uncivilised.
“They were saying that because a day before that judgment was given, he had openly warned people that, ‘No Rainbow Coalition here. If I see… I’ll collect the vehicle for you.’ Very, very uncivilised,” Wike said.
The FCT minister also dismissed suggestions that a video of him dancing with Okorocha indicated a political arrangement behind the judgment, explaining that the footage was recorded when he hosted the former governor while he was still in office.
“Now they showed the video where Rochas and I danced when I hosted him when he was governor. So that was that dance,” he said.
The dispute has drawn attention to the Rainbow Coalition, a political arrangement promoted by Wike to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election across party lines without requiring participants to abandon their existing political parties.
Wike, who remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, has argued that PDP members can support Tinubu for president while backing their party’s candidates in governorship and legislative elections.
Defending the arrangement on Thursday, he maintained that political groups did not have to adopt identical positions in every election.
“In any case, we are supporting Mr President, for Christ’s sake. Your business is to make sure, first things is, Mr President wins the election. As it is today, anybody who talks about the priority… should be that Mr President wins the election. That’s my priority,” he said.
Okorocha had earlier praised Wike’s Rainbow Coalition proposal during an interview with Channels Television’s Politics Today on October 29, saying he planned to establish a similar alliance in Imo State to mobilise support for Tinubu in 2027.
