By Philip Yatai and Precious Akutamadu

Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, on Thursday, formally inaugurated the 2027 All Progressives Congress (APC)/Rainbow Coalition Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers.

Speaking ‌‍⁠⁠‍⁠⁠‍‍‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌during the inauguration ceremony in Port Harcourt, Wike charged the more than 700-member body to mobilise grassroots support and deliver three million votes for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

The minister, who is the Coordinator of the Tinubu Campaign Council in Rivers and leader of the Rainbow Coalition, urged council members to abandon conventional, ceremonial rally-style politics in favour of aggressive door-to-door and community-based mobilisation.

“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 achieve the ambitious three-million-vote target, the former Rivers governor handed down a strict daily quota to every council member.

“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 sub-committees, that is how we will hit the target,” he said.

Wike also announced that local government campaign councils across the state would be inaugurated within one week, with lists of sub-committee chairmen and members to be finalised by Monday.

Addressing complaints from party faithful whose names were omitted from the central council, he reassured them that the real engine of the campaign lies within the sub-committees, where more hands would be integrated.

Defending the “Rainbow Coalition” model, which brings together members of the APC, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP), Wike described it as the surest mathematical path to victory, noting that pooling votes across party lines would guarantee an overwhelming margin for the president.

He also dismissed a recent disclaimer issued by an individual claiming not to be part of the council, clarifying that the slot belonged to a different person bearing the same name.

Wike urged members to remain focused on issue-based campaigns in the state highlighting the Tinubu administration’s achievements, warning them not to be distracted by opposition’s provocations.

In his remarks, Gov. Siminalayi Fubara affirmed his total commitment to the coalition, describing the newly-inaugurated council as bigger, wider and better coordinated than the structure that delivered victory in 2023.

Notably, Fubara pointed out that former political adversaries had now closed ranks to work together for the state and the president.

“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,” he said.

The governor issued a stern warning against double-dealing, urging members to work with sincerity rather than professing loyalty in public while sabotaging the effort behind closed doors.

“I am here, and I say it boldly anywhere, any day, in private and in secret: I have taken this position,” Fubara affirmed, echoing Wike’s assurance that omitted supporters would be accommodated in the sub-committees.

Earlier, the Director of Administration for the campaign council, Amb. Desmond Akawor, noted that the council’s foot soldiers were primed to crisscross all the 6,866 polling units across the state.

Akawor said the state’s elders had already made a firm commitment to delivering three million votes to Tinubu, declaring that the machinery was fully charged to comb every nook and cranny of the state.(NAN)

Edited by ‘Wale Sadeeq