The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has defended his multi-party Rainbow Coalition as a political platform that would remain in place ahead of the 2027 general elections, amid questions by a media aide to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over the estimated cost of the minister’s televised media engagements.
Wike, who spoke during a media parley with select journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, insisted that the coalition was established to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid and would not be abandoned despite criticism from some governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
At the same time, Atiku’s media adviser, Paul Ibe, has challenged the FCT minister to disclose the invoices, funding sources and budgetary provisions for his media engagements, estimating that the broadcasts could cost between ₦1.92 billion and ₦3.84 billion annually if held monthly under the assumptions he outlined.
“What I’ve said to Nigerians and to Almighty God is, ‘I’m going to support Tinubu for him to realise his second-term ambition.’ I did not promise any governor,” he said.
The minister also denied soliciting political favours from APC governors, citing his support for some of them during previous political contests.
“If you have any problem with me, come out back and face Wike. Don’t go on under the Rainbow Coalition. For the Rainbow Coalition, it has come. It will stay. There’s nothing anybody can do about it,” he said.
Wike’s position comes amid growing disagreement within the APC over his continued membership of the PDP while mobilising support for Tinubu through a cross-party political platform.
Ibe said residents of the FCT deserved to know the actual expenditure on the broadcasts and how much attention was devoted to infrastructure, public services and other issues affecting the territory. “There is nothing wrong with a minister explaining his stewardship. But public resources must serve public purposes, not personal political battles,” he wrote.
He argued that the minister’s media engagements should focus on the performance of the FCT administration rather than political disputes involving opposition figures, including Atiku, former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the New Democratic Congress (NDC).
Ibe consequently challenged Wike to publish the invoices and identify the broadcasting stations allegedly paid, the amounts involved, the sources of funding and the relevant budget lines. “Minister Wike, publish the invoices. Identify the stations paid, the amounts, the funding sources and the relevant budget lines,” he said.
Although the minister’s media parley provided an opportunity to discuss his administration’s projects and his political position ahead of the 2027 elections, Ibe’s intervention has raised questions about the cost of the engagements and whether they are financed from public funds.
No evidence presented by Ibe established that the broadcasts were paid for with public money, while Wike had not, in the statements provided, responded directly to the specific demand for invoices and details of the funding. The controversy highlights two issues increasingly shaping political discourse ahead of the 2027 elections:
Wike’s determination to sustain a cross-party coalition in support of Tinubu despite resistance from some APC governors, and the demand for greater transparency over the use of public resources for government communications and media appearances.