Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has denied reports linking him to alleged political moves aimed at facilitating former President Goodluck Jonathan’s return to the presidential race ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking during a televised media parley on TVC on Friday, Wike said the former leader had never informed him of any intention to contest again, dismissing the reports as baseless speculation.
“Jonathan has never told me. He has never called me one day to say, ‘look, I’m being pressured to run.’
If he calls me and asks me, I’ll be able to tell him my mind, what I feel,” Wike stated.
He urged Nigerians to disregard unverified media reports, stressing that false stories had often been circulated about him.
“So I will not because you people put something on the page of some newspaper—just like you said they flew me out of the country—then, I now assume it’s correct,” the minister added.
A recent report by The PUNCH suggested that Jonathan was under pressure from certain political stakeholders to abandon any plans to return to the presidential race and instead support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid. The speculation has stirred fresh debate within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), drawing mixed reactions across political blocs.
Wike also denied knowledge of reports that former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki, had emerged as PDP chairman.
“I don’t know about Tanimu Turaki becoming chairman. Maybe he’s becoming chairman for another faction. It’s not the PDP I know,” he said.
The former Rivers State governor criticised the current PDP leadership, accusing some governors of sidelining key stakeholders in major decisions.
“Have I not said before now that the booby trap you are setting will consume you? Have I not told you before now, the way these present governors are doing, they will bury this party?” he asked.
He argued that his role as a former governor and long-time contributor to the PDP should not exclude him from strategic consultations.
“Are you telling me that because I’m not a governor, you go and hold PDP meetings, call them stakeholders, and then exclude me—and you want to survive? Certainly not,” Wike said.
Wike, who served as Rivers State governor between 2015 and 2023 before his appointment as FCT Minister, remains one of the PDP’s most influential figures, though his relationship with the party leadership has often been marked by sharp disagreements over internal crises and power-sharing arrangements.
