The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has revealed how he contacted Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun after the state governorship election and urged him to maintain his commitment to supporting President Bola Tinubu.
Wike disclosed this on Wednesday during a media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he explained that his intervention was driven by his desire to secure support for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
According to the minister, Adeleke had moved to the Accord Party after the internal crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with the move enabling him to secure the platform to contest the August 15 governorship election.
Wike said he was outside Nigeria when the election was held but became concerned about whether Adeleke would continue supporting Tinubu if he emerged victorious.
He said he subsequently called Adeleke directly to remind him of his earlier commitment to the President.
“Adeleke was in the PDP, but the PDP had crises. He moved to the Accord Party so that he would be able to get the (governorship) ticket. During that election, I was not in Nigeria; I was outside the country.
“My concern was, if Adeleke had won, would you still support Mr President? And I called him because that was my only interest.
“I said, ‘Listen, you have told me you will support Mr President. Are you going to keep to it?’ He said he was going to keep to it. I wished him good luck. I didn’t need to go to Osun,” Wike recounted.
The minister said he later reminded Adeleke to publicly reaffirm his support for Tinubu after winning the election and to commend the President for what he described as a free and fair electoral process.
Wike said he also advised Adeleke to present his certificate of return to Tinubu, insisting that his intervention was strategic and not aimed at seeking personal recognition.
“I told Adeleke when you have your certificate of return, go and present it to Mr President. I don’t need to call Mr President. I don’t need to tell anybody. It is my job,” he said.
According to Wike, the strategy was designed to prevent politicians from exploiting the situation to position themselves for political advantage.
“Why was that strategy? To knock off these people who are going to position themselves, coming to curry favour,” he said.
Wike further claimed that Adeleke’s subsequent public statement of support for Tinubu influenced the political calculations surrounding the election, saying, “When Adeleke issued that statement, ADC withdrew.”
The minister also addressed speculation about his position during the Osun election, stressing that he would have intervened if the Federal Government had been directly involved in a confrontation with Adeleke.
“If the Federal Government was fighting Adeleke, there was no way I wouldn’t be involved. But if APC is fighting Adeleke, I’m not a member of APC,” Wike said.
Wike also used the media chat to highlight the infrastructure projects being executed in the FCT under the Tinubu administration, assuring that all projects initiated by the President would be completed before the end of his tenure.
The minister said the FCT had recorded significant progress in infrastructure development, noting that 107 capital projects had been commissioned under Tinubu, with 76 already completed.
He said 10 more projects were expected to be commissioned before the January election, while the remaining projects would be completed before the administration’s tenure expires.
“The President’s administration under Bola Tinubu commissioned 107 capital projects. We have completed 76. Before the January election, we will commission 10, and before the end of his tenure, we would have commissioned all the projects,” Wike said.
He also disclosed that the FCT Administration had made substantial progress on projects inherited from previous administrations.
According to him, 23 of the 25 projects inherited from the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari had been completed, while the remaining two were ongoing.
Wike added that six of eight projects inherited from the administrations of former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had also been completed, with work continuing on the remaining two.
“We inherited 25 projects from President Buhari and completed 23, while two are currently ongoing.
“We inherited eight projects from the administrations of President Jonathan and President Yar’Adua. We have completed six, while two are ongoing,” he said.
The FCT minister said the administration remained committed to completing projects initiated under Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda before the President leaves office.
“Before this tenure expires, every project started under Bola Tinubu would have been completed,” Wike declared.
He also challenged critics to compare the performance of the current FCT Administration with those of previous governments, insisting that the capital had witnessed an unprecedented level of infrastructure development under Tinubu.
“In the history of the FCT, no government has done what we have done in Abuja. I challenge anyone to come out,” Wike stated.