Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said the people of Ogoni in Rivers State will vote for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election in appreciation of his administration’s establishment of the Federal University of Environment and Technology in Ogoniland.

Mr Wike spoke on Wednesday during a Rainbow Coalition town hall meeting with residents of Tai Local Government Area, saying the Ogoni people would appreciate the development brought by the university, which was established in February 2025, over the next four years as academic operations expand.

“You don’t know what you have because the university just started. By the time this university stays four years, five years, then you will know the development,” the former Rivers State governor said. 

A statement by the minister’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, noted that Mr Wike also said Mr Tinubu removed the administrative bottlenecks responsible for delays in passing bills at the National Assembly, crediting the move for the swift passage of the legislation establishing the federal university.

“If you don’t know what it is, even me as a minister, it would be difficult to go through the National Assembly. The National Assembly will pass it, it will now go to the President. Sometimes, the bill will stay there for years,” Mr Wike noted.

Mr Wike subsequently welcomed back aggrieved individuals into the Rainbow Coalition fold, which is an interparty coalition being spearheaded by the minister to ensure the re-election of Mr Tinubu. 

“Let me first of all welcome my brothers. They didn’t go anywhere. There was no fight, they didn’t go to any other party, the same party, but there was a small fight and so we’ve all come back together to work as a team,” Mr Wike added.