2027: If Tinubu loses, Atiku, Obi will come for my head — Wike

The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has offered perhaps his clearest explanation yet for his relentless campaign for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election: he believes a defeat could make him a prime target of the opposition.

Speaking on Wednesday, during a media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Mr Wike said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi would “come for my head” if Mr Tinubu loses the 2027 presidential election.

An excerpt of the interview is posted on X.

“If anything happens, and Mr President fails today, I will be the first politician that Atiku, Obi will hunt for his head. I will be the first politician. I challenge anybody. So, I won’t make that mistake, to be sleeping to see the president lose the election. No.”

The statement captures the unusually personal dimension of Mr Wike’s political investment in Mr Tinubu’s re-election.

Why does Wike expect reprisals?

Mr Wike’s assertion raises a central political question: why does he believe Atiku and Obi would “come for his head” if Mr Tinubu loses?

The phrase suggests that the minister sees his current political choices as carrying consequences beyond an ordinary electoral defeat. It also portrays his support for Mr Tinubu almost as an “offence” for which he could be “punished” if the opposition takes power.

That perception may be rooted in his bitter political history with Mr Atiku.

Mr Wike opposed Mr Atiku during the 2022 PDP presidential primary and subsequently led the G5 governors who refused to support the party’s presidential candidate in 2023. He has since remained openly aligned with Mr Tinubu.

His own rhetoric has also reinforced the sense of a personal political contest. “You want me to fold my hands for Atiku Abubakar to come and win the election?” he asked.

Mr Wike says his position is deliberate and that he has no regrets. “Each day I sleep, I am thinking about the President’s re-election. When I am eating, I think about the President’s re-election. Everything I am doing now is about the President’s re-election,” he said.

The bigger political calculation, therefore, is no longer simply whether Mr Tinubu wins or loses. For Mr Wike, his own political future appears increasingly tied to the outcome.

And that raises another question: is Wike supporting Tinubu because he believes it is best for the country, because it is the safest political calculation for him, or because he believes the alternative could have consequences for him personally?

READ ALSO: 2027: Wike vows to deliver Rivers, FCT to Tinubu

A PDP minister campaigning for APC

Mr Wike remains a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), even though he is serving in an All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government and has become one of Mr Tinubu’s most vocal political allies. This newspaper previously reported that he had pledged to deliver both Rivers State and the FCT for the President in 2027.

His political alignment has become even more striking in Rivers, where he is now backing an APC candidate for governor despite his membership of the PDP.

On Tuesday, Mr Wike introduced Kingsley Chinda, the APC governorship candidate, as “the next governor of Rivers State,” effectively signalling his preference in a contest in which the PDP also has political interests, Daily Post reported.