Wike’s Political Gambit: How He Is Scheming To Lead Tinubu’s Campaign Organisation

• But some political pundits suggest Wike might prove to be Tinubu’s albatross

By PHC Telegraph

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike may be scheming to take control of the campaign organisation of President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

Already, sources close to the former Governor of Rivers State hint that every effort is being made to ensure that he is named the Director General of Tinubu’s next campaign organisation.

Wike had run the presidential race against Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on the platform of the PDP on the road to the 2023 general elections.

Although he did not secure the party ticket, he however demonstrated that he has indeed cultivated a cult followership within the PDP which could be trusted to give him a strong hold on the political apparatus of the party.

The FCT Minister who recently swore he would make sure Atiku fails again and again had vowed just before he was due to join the Tinubu administration that he would never again dream of running another presidential race.

Could this have been part of the attempt to relax Tinubu seen in some circles as the old political fox?

No one is sure, but Tinubu’s people are keeping a weary eye on Wike whose ambitious nature is coming to the fore.

A clever move to edge out Atiku and Tinubu on grounds of age had succeeded in scaling through second reading on the floor of parliament before it was  stepped down.

Those driving it were to push out all those who are more than sixty years old from ever becoming President.

Telegraph’s Editor-in-Chief has learnt through dependable Assembly sources, including lawmakers, that someone big and powerful acting in league with some persons was secretly pushing for the passage of that bill.

The move to strip the Vice President and state governors of immunity is allegedly coming from the same quarters.

That bill sponsored by a known Wike accolyte on the floor of the House of Reps that will enable a wreckless and tactless Nigerian leader to toy with the destiny of a nation, the integrity of the constitution, the protection of a level of political office holders and also weaken democratic structures hasn’t been killed.

But Wike who is yet to step out of the PDP, has become increasingly powerful under the Tinubu administration, with some persons in social media circles claiming that Wike, not Tinubu, could be the one running the country.

Wike, some people say, has done well as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. They say he had brought change to the developmental landscape of Abuja. The honour conferred on him by the leadership of ThisDay and Arise seems to confirm that.

He has successfully asked for the removal of the FCT’s account from the TSA, allegedly asked on political grounds for the destabilisation of his home state, and many have come to believe that there is nothing that the Minister asks from President Tinubu that he does not get.

Will Wike’s secret scheme to translate into a Director General of a powerful campaign outfit work out the same way that Rotimi Amaechi’s two-time lead of Buhari’s campaign organisation did?

“Mark my words, Wike will lead Tinubu’s campaign in 2027”, a knowledgeable politician from the Rivers South East told this publication. He is doing so much for Tinubu and so much for himself.

“Surpassing Amaechi has become an obsession for Wike over the years. It is rumoured that Wike had no ambition to be President until he heard that Amaechi was aspiring”, a political player from the Rivers East revealed.

An insider in the Minister’s camp noted during a chat, “Wike is trying very hard to earn the trust of the President. Of course, there have been obstacles in some quarters to answer your question. With the support of his allies within the Presidency, he has visibly surmounted most of it.”

Wike has managed to secure the confidence of some of Tinubu’s key men, including the Chief of Staff, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajiamilia and the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

Wike was reportedly involved in the establishment of the current leadership of the National Assembly, was active in APC’s win of Edo State, remains deeply rooted in the crisis that has led to the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers, and was just about to storm Bayelsa State to address a rally when it was put on hold to avert a bloodbath.

Believed to have a long arm stretching across the country’s political landscape, the Minister has allegedly succeeded in truncating every move made to relaunch the PDP.

His allies within the party, it is widely acknowledged, have held tenaciously unto the leadership of the party and in their position, made it impossible for the PDP National Working Committee to meet.

PDP’s National Publicity Secretary a couple of days ago revealed he is about to leave, saying the party appeared to be lying on its death bed.

In the meantime, there are claims that five governors of the PDP might pitch tent with the APC. Some in the polity are pointing fingers in the direction of the President’s “Mr-Fix-It”.

These moves and others which are not within the public domain have earned him increasing respect in Tinubu circles and brought him closer to a president who once said in public that Wike is one of his most valued advisers.

Tinubu is quoted as saying that he would have sacked Wike if he was not working for APC interests. This was perhaps an open admission by the President that the Wike Nigerians are seeing is no longer a member of the PDP.

The fact that PDP leaders are unable to throw Wike out of their midst has remained a major talking point and an indication that Wike’s political structure has eaten deep into the fabric of the party.

Recall that Wike had spoken about his political structure, stressing that he would fight anyone with the intention to diminish it.

That comment was made early when the fight between him and Governor Fubara came to the fore.

With the APC controlling two out of six states in the South South and Rivers, a key state already subjugated by his supporters who are drawing strength from the President, Minister Wike hopes to take control of the South South and ride on the back of his many schemes, some people allege, to the office of the Director General of the Tinubu campaign team.

There are however cracks within the alignment that is being built to ensure that Tinubu returns as a second term President.

Asked if he could be quoted, an insider retorted, “That’s the problem with the press. Is it my name or the information that you seek that is important? There are people in Tinubu’s political family who think Wike will become an albatross of the President.

“These people are saying Wike cannot be an option. They are saying he is a threat even to himself. They are getting ready for a fight. That fight will be fought in 2026.”

In the meantime, pipelines have become targets in a region where Tinubu’s rulecwas wholesomely accepted.

For now Wike enjoys the nation’s political spotlight and the power that he has assumably acquired within this period.

The danger for those who disagree with the FCT Minister is that being a political opponent of Wike is being equated with being an enemy to the President and the nation.

The events that have played out in Rivers where a serving Governor who allegedly tried to resist the control of his state by a Minister is serving a six-month suspension despite popular opposition from a majority of Nigerians is a case in point.

The road to 2027 would be rough and bumpy given unfolding events, but most people who are watching the scene say it may indeed be bumpier with Wike in the saddle.