Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has inaugurated the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC)/Rainbow Coalition Presidential Campaign Council, setting a target of three million votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
Wike, who is the coordinator of the Tinubu Campaign Council and leader of the Rainbow Coalition, gave the charge during the inauguration of the over 700-member council in Port Harcourt, urging members to intensify grassroots mobilisation and adopt a more direct approach to winning voters.
He said the campaign would move away from the conventional practice of organising large rallies and instead focus on door-to-door engagements, community meetings, market visits and interactions with different groups across the state.
“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, to family meetings, to age-grade meetings, and to the markets to talk to them vigorously. Tell them why Tinubu should be re-elected,” he said.
To ensure that the three-million-vote target was achieved, the former Rivers State governor directed every member of the council to mobilise at least five voters daily in support of Tinubu and candidates of the National Assembly.
“You must be found working. Take it as a point of duty: every day, I will get at least five voters that 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 subcommittees, that is how we will hit the target,” Wike said.
He disclosed that campaign councils would be inaugurated in all local government areas of the state within one week, adding that the lists of subcommittee chairmen and members would be concluded by Monday.
Addressing concerns among party supporters who were excluded from the central campaign council, Wike assured them that they would be accommodated in the various subcommittees, stressing that the subcommittees would provide opportunities for wider participation in the campaign.
Defending the Rainbow Coalition arrangement, which brings together members of the APC, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP), Wike described the alliance as a strategic formula for securing victory for Tinubu in 2027.
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He argued that the combination of supporters across different political platforms would strengthen the President’s electoral chances and deliver a substantial voting margin in Rivers State.
The FCT minister also dismissed a recent disclaimer by an individual who claimed not to be a member of the campaign council, explaining that the controversy arose from two people bearing the same name, with the position actually belonging to another individual.
He urged members to concentrate on issue-based campaigns, particularly communicating the achievements of the Tinubu administration in Rivers State, rather than allowing opposition criticisms and provocations to distract them.
In his remarks, Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, pledged his full commitment to the Rainbow Coalition, describing the newly inaugurated campaign council as bigger, broader and better coordinated than the political structure that secured victory in the 2023 general election.
Fubara observed that former political opponents had now put aside their differences and united to work towards achieving the same political objective for Rivers State and President Tinubu.
“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,” the governor said.
He, however, cautioned members against double-dealing, urging them to demonstrate genuine commitment to the coalition rather than professing loyalty publicly while working against its interests behind the scenes.
“I am here, and I say it boldly anywhere, any day, in private and in secret: I have taken this position,” Fubara declared.
The governor also aligned with Wike’s assurance that supporters whose names were not included in the central campaign council would be given responsibilities through the subcommittees.
Earlier, the director of Administration of the campaign council, Ambassador Desmond Akawor, said the council’s mobilisation teams were prepared to cover all 6,866 polling units across Rivers State.
Akawor reiterated the commitment of the state’s political elders to delivering three million votes for President Tinubu, declaring that the campaign machinery was fully prepared to reach communities across the state and mobilise support for the President’s re-election.
