Wike Declines APC Campaign Director Role, Prioritises Rivers State Victory

Nyesom Wike, who serves as Federal Capital Territory Minister, has declined an offer to take up the position of Director-General for President Bola Tinubu's 2027 presidential campaign. He stated that protecting his standing in Rivers State matters more than accepting a campaign leadership role.

On Saturday, while he supervised construction activities on the Apo-Karshi and Kubwa-Bwari road projects in Abuja, the former Rivers governor announced this decision. Wike grounded his choice in strategic considerations tied to the electoral map.

He contended that taking on the director role for the campaign would jeopardize his political reach and vote-getting capacity within Rivers State. Instead, he suggested his efforts toward Tinubu's re-election would prove more effective by delivering votes directly across Rivers and the FCT, where his political networks function well.

Wike held that how politicians rank in terms of relevance should depend on their capacity to win elections, not on titles they carry within campaign bodies. The announcement arrived shortly after the presidency revealed its APC Presidential Campaign Council lineup, with Senator Abdulaziz Yari, the former governor of Zamfara State, taking the Director-General post.

One reporting difference exists: Punch Newspapers indicated Wike pointed to his lack of membership in the All Progressives Congress as influencing his choice—a detail absent from other versions of his public remarks. Wike reiterated his commitment to supporting Tinubu's bid for the presidency within what he termed the Rainbow Coalition arrangement.

His statements reveal a preference for operating as a state-based political force and regional power figure over serving in a centralized campaign apparatus—a pattern evident throughout his tenure as Rivers governor and his current role in the cabinet.