Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Thursday inaugurated the 2027 All Progressives Congress (APC)/Rainbow Coalition Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers State.
Speaking at the ceremony in Port Harcourt, Wike charged the more than 700-member council with mobilising grassroots support and securing three million votes for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Wike, who is the Rivers coordinator of the Tinubu Campaign Council and leader of the Rainbow Coalition, urged members to move away from conventional, rally-based campaigning and focus instead on door-to-door and community outreach.
“We are going to depart from that ceremonial campaign style of converging in one place and saying we are holding a rally.
“Rather, we are going to go out to communities, family meetings, age-grade meetings and markets to talk to people vigorously. Tell them why Tinubu should be re-elected,” he said.
To help meet the three-million-vote target, Wike set a daily recruitment goal for every council member.
“You must be found working. Take it as a point of duty: every day, I will get at least five voters who will vote for Tinubu and members of the National Assembly.
“If you multiply the number of people you win daily by the members of this council and the sub-committees, that is how we will hit the target,” he said.
Wike said local government campaign councils would be inaugurated across the state within a week. Lists of sub-committee chairmen and members are expected to be finalised by Monday.
Responding to complaints from party members whose names were omitted from the central council, he said they could be included in the sub-committees, which he described as the campaign’s “real engine”.
Wike defended the Rainbow Coalition, which includes members of the APC, the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party, calling it the surest route to victory. He said pooling support across party lines would give the president an overwhelming margin.
He also dismissed a recent disclaimer issued by a person who said he was not part of the council, explaining that the position had been assigned to another person with the same name.
Wike urged members to focus on an issue-based campaign highlighting the Tinubu administration’s achievements and cautioned them against being distracted by opposition provocations.
In his remarks, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara pledged his full commitment to the coalition. He described the newly inaugurated council as bigger, broader and better coordinated than the structure that secured victory in 2023.
Fubara noted that former political adversaries had now joined forces to work for the state and the president.
“Nothing is impossible. The only thing that is not possible is to revive the dead. If we take this as a serious task that must be achieved, we will come out decisively with a stronger vote than what we did in 2023,” he said.
The governor warned members against double-dealing, urging them to show their commitment through their actions rather than professing loyalty publicly while undermining the campaign behind closed doors.
“I am here, and I say it boldly anywhere, any day, in private and in secret: I have taken this position,” Fubara said. He also echoed Wike’s assurance that supporters omitted from the central council would be accommodated in the sub-committees.
Earlier, the council’s Director of Administration, Ambassador Desmond Akawor, said campaign teams were ready to cover all 6,866 polling units in the state.
Akawor said Rivers elders had committed to delivering three million votes for Tinubu, adding that the campaign machinery was ready to reach every part of the state.
