A fresh disagreement has emerged within the political camp supporting President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) traded positions over his “rainbow coalition.”
The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, on Monday declared that APC governors would not support any political arrangement capable of weakening the party or its candidates in the 2027 elections.
Wike, however, insisted on Tuesday that the coalition he leads is a cross-party platform focused solely on mobilising support for Tinubu’s re-election and has nothing to do with the APC.
Speaking in Abuja after a meeting of the PGF, Uzodimma said the governors had unanimously agreed to campaign for Tinubu and other APC candidates contesting the 2027 elections.
“The 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,” Uzodimma, who was flanked by his colleagues, said.
“In other words, the forum has no intention to support any candidate at any level that is not an APC candidate.”
The Imo governor said APC governors would remain committed to candidates sponsored by the party and would reject arrangements capable of creating divided loyalty or competing interests within the APC.
“Because our candidates are standing in the election as being sponsored by our party, the governor’s campaign commitment is exclusively to all APC candidates,” Uzodimma said.
He also announced that the APC would adopt an integrated campaign structure ahead of the elections, with its various levels aligned with Tinubu’s expectations and the party’s strategic objectives.
Wike, a PDP member who served as governor of Rivers State before his appointment as FCT minister in 2023, has been championing the “rainbow coalition” as a platform bringing together politicians from different parties who support Tinubu.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, Wike reaffirmed that his support for Tinubu’s re-election was “sacrosanct”.
He said the coalition should not be interpreted as an alliance with the APC or as a commitment by him to prevent the PDP from fielding candidates in the 2027 governorship and legislative elections.
“Politics is local, and those having problems in their states should resolve them instead of using the re-election of the President to whip up sentiments,” Wike said.
READ ALSO: Wike: Insecurity, Hardship Won’t Derail Tinubu’s 2027 Bid
He recalled that he and other members of the G5 supported Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election without first reaching an agreement with the APC.
Wike stressed that his “support in 2027 remained solely for the President”.
The minister argued that political support for the presidency could coexist with contests between different parties at state and legislative levels.
He cited the 2023 elections in Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi states, where voters backed APC candidates in some National Assembly contests while voting for another party in the presidential election.
“In Imo State, under Governor Hope Uzodimma, how did APC win two Senate seats in 2023, in an election held the same day as that of the President, when APC had less than 15 per cent in the presidential election? Was it a rainbow coalition? Were the voters confused?
“Was it a rainbow coalition that also made APC win 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?”
Wike urged political stakeholders to prioritise Tinubu’s presidential campaign before turning their attention to state-level contests.
“After the President has been re-elected, we can all go and face elections in our states,” he said.
He further clarified that he had never promised that the PDP would withdraw from other contests in 2027.
“What I said and stand for is that I will mobilise support for the re-election of the President. I never promised anyone that PDP will not field candidates to contest governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.
“Most importantly, the rainbow coalition has nothing to do with the APC. Rather, it is our own way of mobilising support across political parties for Mr President, who has done well to deserve a second term,” he said.
The opposing positions underscore an emerging tension over how Tinubu’s re-election campaign should operate.
While Wike is pushing a broad-based coalition that cuts across party lines, APC governors insist that support for the President must not come at the expense of the party’s candidates or electoral interests in 2027.