2027 elections: Wike assured me FCT victory before I granted TSA removal, says Tinubu.

By James Ajibade//President Bola Tinubu says he had an agreement with Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), before he approved his request to remove the FCT administration from the treasury single account (TSA).

Tinubu spoke on Sunday when Wike led FCT residents on a Sallah home to the State House.

Applauding Wike’s achievements, Tinubu said the minister presented his ideas for transforming the FCT but noted that bottlenecks needed to be removed for unhindered accomplishments.

One of these bottlenecks was the removal of the FCT from the TSA, which the president recalled Wike to have requested.

Tinubu said he struck a bargain to fulfill Wike’s appeal.

“I remember the day Nyesom Wike came to me and said, ‘Please take us out of this problem of TSA so that I can do more work and achieve more, Tinubu said.

“I said, ‘Okay, show me what you’re about to do,’ and he presented his thinking and his belief, and I threw in my political jibe. I said, ‘Will that give me any opportunity for my party to win an election in the FCT?’” the president added.

“I said, ‘I know where you’re coming from. Your own party or my party? Because if this thing goes too much in your own favour, you will lose your job, and he said, ‘Okay, we will settle that, my oga,’ and I moved ahead, and everything started changing rapidly.”

Although Wike is serving in the All Progressives Congress (APC)-controlled administration, Wike remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Tinubu said the FCTA’s removal from the TSA expedited development and enhanced governance.

He praised the minister for completing abandoned projects and encouraged Nigerians to look beyond ethnic and religious colourations in their leadership choices and focus more on results.

The FCT and Rivers, where Wike hails from, are key states for winning presidential elections.