THE political support being mobilised by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election under the Rainbow Coalition is facing growing resistance from within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)
At least four APC governors and a serving cabinet member are insisting that Wike’s support for the president must not undermine the APC and its candidates.
Wike, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been promoting the coalition, a cross-party platform aimed at mobilising support for Tinubu while allowing members to retain their party affiliations and support candidates of their choice in other elective offices.
But that arrangement has increasingly brought Wike into conflict with APC governors and at least a cabinet member.
The latest pushback came from Works Minister David Umahi, who on Friday said there was no Rainbow Coalition in Ebonyi State and reaffirmed the state’s alignment with the APC and its candidates.
Umahi, a former Ebonyi governor and APC chieftain, also warned politicians seeking to campaign in the state against making statements capable of creating tension.
“If Wike has candidates here, he has not told me. And his candidate cannot break our relationship, but his candidate is not part of our relationship. There is no rainbow coalition in Ebonyi State,” Umahi said.
He added that politicians were free to campaign but should not “dish out hate speeches” or attempt to foment crisis in the state.
Umahi’s position came a day after Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal delivered one of the strongest criticisms yet of Wike’s political arrangement.
Lawal, speaking in an interview with Channels Television in New York, said Wike had to choose where his political allegiance lay.
“Our message is very very clear: be on one side, you can’t be on two sides,” Lawal said.
The Zamfara governor said politicians who support the APC should also support its candidates rather than back the ruling party at the presidential level while supporting other parties in governorship and legislative contests.
“APC all the way from head to toe,” he said, insisting that the APC governors would maintain their position despite Wike’s arguments.
Lawal’s comments underline the central disagreement between Wike and the APC governors.
Wike has argued that politicians can support Tinubu for president without becoming APC members or supporting APC candidates in other elections.
The APC Governors Forum has rejected that approach.
At a meeting in September, the forum, chaired by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, said its members would not support any political arrangement capable of weakening the APC, undermining Tinubu’s re-election or adversely affecting any APC candidate.
Uzodimma said the governors’ campaign commitment was to APC candidates at all levels.
Governors versus Wike
The disagreement has already become personal between Wike and some APC governors.
Wike has identified Uzodimma and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as among those opposing his political activities.
He has also named Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun as one of the governors having issues with his coalition.
The governors, however, have maintained that their position is about protecting the APC’s candidates and political structure rather than opposing Tinubu’s re-election.
Meanwhile, Wike has repeatedly said he supports the president’s return in 2027 and has argued that his Rainbow Coalition is intended to bring support for Tinubu from outside the APC.
On Friday, Wike said he would lead the campaign for Tinubu’s re-election in Rivers State and the FCT.
South-East APC leaders join the resistance
The opposition to Wike’s approach has also spread beyond individual governors.
APC leaders in the South-East have backed the Progressive Governors’ Forum and rejected the Rainbow Coalition, warning against any attempt to weaken the party’s structures in the region.
The statement containing the rejection was signed by the APC National Vice Chairman for the South-East, Ijeomah Arodiogbu, and the party chairmen in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states.
The leaders accused Wike of attempting to influence the political fortunes of sitting APC governors and said the party would support its candidates at all levels.
They also demanded that Wike withdraw comments they considered disrespectful to APC governors.
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