The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress have clashed over the proposed Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The dispute centres on Wike’s support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election while maintaining that the Peoples Democratic Party should remain free to field candidates against APC candidates in governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections.
The APC Progressive Governors’ Forum, chaired by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, said its members would not support any political arrangement capable of weakening the APC or undermining Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Uzodimma announced the position after the governors met in Abuja on Monday night, saying their campaign commitment was exclusively to APC candidates at all levels.
The governors’ position came amid Wike’s efforts to promote the Rainbow Coalition as a multi-party platform focused on mobilising support for Tinubu at the presidential level.
Wike, however, said the coalition was not affiliated with the APC and did not prevent the PDP or other political parties from presenting candidates in other elections.
In a statement through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, Wike reaffirmed his support for Tinubu’s second-term bid.
He said he had never promised the APC that the PDP would not field candidates in the 2027 governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections.
Wike also argued that presidential support should be separated from contests for other elective offices, citing the voting patterns recorded in several states during the 2023 elections.
Speaking on Arise TV’s Prime Time, Wike dismissed the APC governors’ concerns over the coalition and said his backing for Tinubu did not mean he had abandoned 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.
The minister also criticised the APC governors over their opposition to his political activities, saying they should deal with political issues in their respective states rather than use Tinubu’s re-election as a basis for opposing the coalition.
The disagreement has also exposed wider political tensions among members of the President’s political camp, with unnamed APC sources cited by PUNCH linking the rivalry to political influence, the 2027 elections and positioning ahead of the 2031 political cycle. Those claims were attributed to the sources and were not independently confirmed in the report.
Meanwhile, factions of the PDP have taken different positions on the dispute.
The PDP publicity secretary aligned with Wike defended his support for Tinubu while insisting that the party would continue to contest elections against the APC in 2027.
The Tanimu Turaki-led PDP Interim National Working Committee also criticised the arrangement, arguing that the APC and the Presidency had benefited from Wike’s participation in an APC-led government while he remained a PDP member.
The APC Governors’ Forum has maintained that its priority is to protect the party’s candidates and support Tinubu’s re-election.
Wike, meanwhile, has maintained that his support is specifically for Tinubu at the presidential level and does not extend to automatic support for APC candidates in other electoral contests.
The disagreement leaves the Rainbow Coalition as a significant point of contention among political actors preparing for the 2027 elections.
