THE Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), the umbrella body of governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has dissociated itself from the Rainbow Coalition led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The group vowed that its members would not support political alliances or arrangements that could undermine the APC candidates in the 2027 general election.
The position, announced by the forum’s Chairman and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, has, however, drawn a scathing response from Wike, who said his support for Tinubu’s re-election should not be interpreted as support for APC candidates in other elections.
Uzodimma announced the governors’ position after a closed-door meeting of APC governors at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja on Monday, September 14.
He said the governors resolved not to participate in, support or endorse any political arrangement capable of undermining Tinubu’s re-election, weakening the APC or affecting any of its candidates.
“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,” Uzodimma said while reading the communique issued after the meeting.
He added, “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 position comes amid cold war between Wike and some APC governors, including Uzodimma and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Responding to the governors’ position, Wike said his support for Tinubu’s re-election remained sacrosanct, but stressed that he never promised that his party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), would not field candidates in governorship, National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly elections.
In a statement on Tuesday, September 15, by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, Wike said the coalition supporting Tinubu had no connection with the APC.
“Most importantly, 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.
Wike said he did not meet with the APC before he and other members of the G5 governors supported Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.
The minister said, “Politics is no longer about coming from fourth position to be governor, it is about genuinely mobilising support and winning elections from the polling units,” referring to how Uzodinma was declared by the Supreme Court as Imo State Governor in 2020.
He said his position for 2027 remained to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election, while political parties should remain free to field candidates for other positions.
“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 States House of Assembly elections,” Wike said.
He urged political actors to separate the presidential election from contests at the state and legislative levels.
The minister also argued that the 2023 elections showed that voters could support different parties in presidential and legislative contests.
He cited Imo State, where APC won two senatorial seats in 2023 despite the party recording less than 15 per cent of the presidential vote in the state.
He also referenced Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu states, where APC candidates won National Assembly seats despite Tinubu recording relatively low presidential votes.
The ICIR reports that Wike had recently reportedly accused Uzodinma and AbdulRazaq of working against him.
Tinubu picked Wike, a PDP chieftain, as minister shortly after his inauguration on May 29, 2023.
He deployed the former Rivers State governor as the FCT Minister.
Wike has, however, refused to defect to the APC, while his party, the PDP, remains embroiled in protracted crises and litigations among its members.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M