The growing rivalry among political actors ahead of the 2027 general elections, coupled with emerging ambitions for the 2031 presidency, has highlighted tensions between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC), with the development threatening to complicate President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Wike, who is serving in the APC-led Federal Government, has been promoting a Rainbow Coalition in Rivers State to support President Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
In the late hours of Monday night, the Chairman of the APC’s Progressive Governors’ Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, in an indirect attack at Wike said the ruling party governors would not support any alliance or political arrangement capable of undermining the re-election of President Tinubu or weakening the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
Uzodimma maintained that the governors’ campaign commitment remained exclusively to APC candidates at all levels.
However, Wike defended his Rainbow Coalition, insisting that the alliance was aimed at supporting President Tinubu while strengthening the opposition Peoples Democratic Party against the APC in other electoral contests.
He said his support for Tinubu did not amount to supporting APC candidates across the states, stressing that he remained free to support candidates of his choice.
Meanwhile, the camp of the PDP Interim National Working Committee led by Tanimu Turaki (SAN) mocked Tinubu and the APC governors over the development, as the National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, added that the ruling party and the President would be consumed by the monster they created.
In a sharp response, the Wike-backed PDP defended the minister, describing him as a political force that could not be discarded. The party’s Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, in an exclusive interview with our correspondent, maintained that despite Wike’s support for Tinubu at the presidential level, the PDP remained committed to fielding candidates and contesting the 2027 elections.
Wike, who has been at odds with some APC governors, alleged during a recent media chat that Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Governor Uzodimma were behind his political troubles in Rivers State and some other parts of the country.
According to him, the disagreement stems from the expanding influence of the Rainbow Coalition, which he said was a platform for PDP members and other politicians seeking to challenge APC candidates for governorship and senatorial seats in the 2027 elections, a development he said was at odds with the interests of the governors.
Uzodimma, at the end of the governors’ meeting in Abuja late Monday night, stressed that they had not entered into any formal agreement with any individual or opposition party ahead of the election.
In what appeared to be an indirect response to Wike’s remarks and his moves to expand his political influence across the states, the APC governors declared that they would not entertain any arrangement that could create confusion, divided loyalty or competing interests within the party.
Uzodimma, who read the communique at the end of the meeting, said the forum’s primary focus was to support official APC candidates at all levels rather than promote external interests.
He stated, “The APC Governors Forum unanimously resolved that its members will not participate in, support or endorse any alliance or political arrangement capable of undermining the re-election of Mr President, weakening the APC or adversely affecting any candidate of the party at all levels.
“In other words, the forum has no intention to support any candidate at any level that is not an APC candidate because our candidates who are contesting the election are being sponsored by our party.
“The governors’ campaign commitment is exclusively to all APC candidates. All levels of the party campaign architecture will align with the expectations of Mr President and the strategic objectives of the party.”
Wike, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, on Tuesday reaffirmed his unwavering support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election, noting that he never pledged to stop the PDP from fielding candidates in governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections.
He clarified that the Rainbow Coalition was not affiliated to the APC but was a platform for political parties supporting Tinubu’s re-election and his administration’s achievements.
The minister noted that “politics is local and those having problems in their states should resolve them instead of using the reelection of the President to whip up sentiments.”
Wike said he never held discussions with the APC before he and other G-5 members backed President Tinubu in 2023, stressing that his support in 2027 is solely for the President.
He added that politics is no longer about finishing fourth and becoming governor, but about genuinely mobilising voters and winning elections from the polling units.
The FCT minister asked; “In Imo State, under Governor Hope Uzodinma, how did APC win two Senate seats in 2023, in an election held the same day with that of the President and APC had less than 15 per cent in the presidential election? Was it Rainbow Coalition? Were the voters confused?
“Was it Rainbow Coalition that also made APC win the National Assembly elections in Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu states where the President did not have 10 per cent of the votes?
“If in 2023, the voters in Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi voted APC in the senatorial election and voted another party in the presidential election, they won’t be confused in 2027 provided we all support the President genuinely this time?”
The minister urged all stakeholders to put the presidential election first, saying; “after the President must have been reelected, we can all go and face elections in our states.
“What I said and stand for is that I will mobilise support for the reelection of the President. I never promised anyone that PDP will not field candidates to contest governorship, National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly elections.
“Most importantly, the Rainbow Coalition has nothing to do with the APC. Rather, it is our own way of mobilising support accross political parties for Mr President, who has done well to deserve a second term,” he said.
Also, Wike, in an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time on Tuesday night, dismissed the governors’ concerns, arguing that his support for Tinubu did not mean he had abandoned the PDP.
“They (APC governors) are politically lazy. When you have your local problems, don’t use Mr President as your excuse,” Wike said.
He said the disagreements surrounding his political activities were not new, recalling that he had faced opposition from political actors while serving both as Rivers governor and FCT minister.
“This thing did not start today. It started at ministerial position. They were not happy that I was Minister of FCT. Also, they were unhappy when I was governor,” he said.
Wike also suggested that some of his critics lacked access to the information available to him on the political situation, saying they would have a different understanding of his activities if they knew what he knew.
“If they know what I know, they would not come out to shout,” he said.
The minister reiterated his support for Tinubu’s re-election, insisting that such support was separate from his activities within the PDP.
“I have said I will support the President and I am still supporting him. What has that got to do with my party?” Wike asked.
He also cited the political activities of Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo; Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke; and Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, to argue that support for a presidential candidate did not prevent political parties from fielding candidates for other elective positions.
“Take Soludo, Adeleke and Otti. Does it mean that their parties will not present other candidates? This thing they are saying does not have any basis,” he said.
Chiding AbdulRazaq, Wike said “The governor of Kwara, so unforunate. Anytime he sees a snake, it’s Wike. Any day he doesn’t eat, it’s Wike. I never see people who will give time to gossip more than the work they have been given. He has three serving senators, he changed all of them. He has House Reps, he changeed all of them.”
