Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has dismissed reports linking him to a Wike 2031 presidential bid to succeed President Bola Tinubu.
The minister’s remarks come amid claims that he formed the controversial Rainbow Coalition as part of an alleged plan to position himself for the 2031 presidential election.
Wike spoke on the issue on Monday after inspecting some projects in the nation’s capital. He dismissed reports linking him to the 2031 presidential race as untrue.
The FCT Minister said those spreading the rumour were playing God, adding that people must first pray to remain alive.
According to him, “People like taking the position of God. First of all, you have to pray that you are alive. You must pray to God to keep you alive till tomorrow. It is when God keeps you alive that you know what to do.”
“How can you be planning 2031 now? Saying that I am positioning myself ahead of the 2031 election is not correct, but assuming it is true, what is wrong?
“People are just afraid of their shadows, not me. Let’s pray to be alive first.”
Backstory…
The speculation around the Wike 2031 presidential bid is rooted in the minister’s long-running presidential ambition and his evolving political relationship with President Bola Tinubu.
Wike himself contested the 2022 PDP presidential primary, where he finished second to Atiku Abubakar. After losing the ticket, he became one of the five PDP governors who formed the G5, which opposed Atiku’s candidacy and demanded that the PDP leadership address its internal zoning and leadership disputes.
The G5’s refusal to support Atiku became one of the major political developments ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
Following the election, Wike took a different political path from the PDP mainstream. Although he remained a PDP member, Tinubu appointed him Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, bringing a prominent opposition politician into the APC-led Federal Government.
Since then, Wike has repeatedly defended his decision to work with Tinubu and has become one of the administration’s most outspoken political supporters.
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