2027: Abuja Indigenous Youths declare support for President Tinubu

Indigenous youths of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), under the aegis of the Abuja Original Inhabitants Youths Empowerment Organisation (AOIYEO), have declared support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in the 2027 presidential election.

The organisation also expressed support for the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, following his declaration that he would resign from office if Tinubu failed to win the presidential election in the FCT and Rivers State in 2027.

The Executive Director of AOIYEO and Supreme Leader of FCT Youths, Commandant Isaac David, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

David said the organisation would mobilise its grassroots structures across the FCT in support of Tinubu, citing infrastructure projects and other interventions by the Federal Government in communities across the territory.

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He said the group’s position followed Wike’s recent declaration that he would stake his ministerial position on the outcome of the 2027 presidential election in the FCT and Rivers State.

Wike had, on Wednesday, said he would resign as FCT Minister if Tinubu lost the presidential election in the two areas.

The minister made the statement while addressing leaders and members of the Apo Mechanics and Traders Association in Abuja, saying his continued stay in office would depend on his ability to secure electoral support for the President in the FCT and Rivers State.

Reacting to the development, David said the organisation’s decision to support Tinubu was based on its assessment of ongoing infrastructure projects and other government interventions in the FCT.

He said the projects had raised expectations among indigenous communities and influenced the group’s decision to support the administration.

“We will back the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, that Tinubu will not lose the election in the FCT because posterity will not forgive us for the good things he has done to the indigenous people of the FCT through the Honourable Minister, Nyesom Wike,” David said.

He added that the organisation would mobilise its members across the territory ahead of the election.

“So we vow to deliver Tinubu because he has done enough for us, and we have the assurance that when he comes back for a second tenure, our marginalisation will be totally crushed,” he said.

David also linked the organisation’s position to the longstanding demand by indigenous communities in the FCT for greater political representation and elected legislative and executive institutions.

According to him, indigenous communities are hopeful that ongoing political and constitutional developments will lead to greater democratic participation and representation for residents of the territory.

He expressed the expectation that the FCT would eventually have governorship and State House of Assembly elections, describing such arrangements as important to the political aspirations of indigenous communities.

“We have proven our full political administrative structure that we have been yearning for, and State House of Assembly and governorship election will no longer be a thing of the past,” David said.

He expressed confidence that such elections would be held before the end of Tinubu’s constitutionally permitted two terms in office.

“We are confident that before the eight years of Mr Tinubu elapse, election will be held for governor of the FCT, and State House of Assembly election will also be held,” he said.

David said the organisation’s support for Tinubu was based on its assessment of the administration’s activities in the FCT and its expectations concerning the future of the territory.

He urged indigenous people and other residents of the FCT to participate in the electoral process and use their votes to express their views on the administration’s performance.

“So, for the things that he has done to the FCT, the indigenous people and the residents, we have vowed to pay him back with our votes,” he said.

Wike’s declaration came amid his political mobilisation for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election. The minister has said he would resign if the President failed to win the FCT and Rivers State.

The AOIYEO position also brings renewed attention to longstanding demands by indigenous communities in the FCT for greater political representation, including elected legislative and executive institutions.

The group’s declaration therefore combines its stated assessment of government development projects with its expectations for greater political participation and representation for indigenous communities in the nation’s capital.