The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has debunked reports linking him to alleged moves for former President Goodluck Jonathan’s return to the 2027 presidential race.
Speaking during a media parley aired on TVC on Friday, Wike clarified that Jonathan has never discussed any political ambition with him, nor sought his opinion on a possible comeback.
“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 said.
The minister warned against relying on unverified media reports, stating, “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.”
A recent report by Hobnob News indicated that Jonathan has been under increasing pressure from some political stakeholders to shelve any plans of re-entering the presidential race and instead support the re-election of the current administration.
The speculation of Jonathan’s possible return has sparked heated debates within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), generating mixed reactions across the geopolitical zones.
Wike also dismissed reports claiming that former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki, had emerged as the new PDP national 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,” Wike stated.
The former Rivers State governor, who has been outspoken about internal divisions within the PDP, criticized the party’s current leadership for sidelining key stakeholders in critical decision-making processes.
“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 queried.
Wike maintained that despite no longer being a governor, his influence and contributions to the PDP warrant inclusion in major 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,” he said.
Wike, who governed Rivers State from 2015 to 2023 before his appointment as FCT Minister, remains one of the most influential figures in the PDP, often at odds with the party’s leadership over internal crises and power-sharing issues.
