Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has fired back at Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma and other All Progressives Congress governors, insisting that his political support ahead of the 2027 general elections is specifically for President Bola Tinubu and not automatically for APC candidates contesting governorship and legislative elections.
Wike said he would mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election but never promised that the Peoples Democratic Party would withdraw from or avoid contesting governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.
The minister stated this in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, amid a growing disagreement over the Rainbow Coalition, a multi-party political platform being promoted by Wike to mobilise support for Tinubu.
The development followed a meeting of APC governors in Abuja on Monday, where the governors, through their forum chairman, Uzodimma, rejected political arrangements they considered capable of undermining the party, its candidates or Tinubu’s re-election bid.
But Wike maintained that the Rainbow Coalition was not an APC structure and should not be interpreted as an arrangement to advance the interests of APC candidates in state and legislative elections.
He said he and other members of the G5 governors did not negotiate with the APC before supporting Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election, stressing that his position for 2027 remained focused on the President.
“I won’t be the one to help people win elections in their states. Politics is local and those having problems in their states should resolve them instead of using the President’s re-election to whip up sentiment,” Wike said.
The former Rivers State governor also challenged Uzodimma over the voting pattern recorded in Imo State during the 2023 general elections.
Wike questioned how APC candidates won two senatorial seats in Imo State during the same election cycle in which Tinubu secured less than 15 per cent of the presidential vote in the state.
He asked whether the outcome was the result of a “rainbow coalition” or whether voters were simply making different choices at different levels of the election.
Wike extended the argument to other South-East states, citing APC victories in National Assembly elections in Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu despite Tinubu recording less than 10 per cent of the presidential votes in those states.
According to him, the 2023 results demonstrated that voters could support candidates from different political parties in presidential, senatorial and other legislative elections.
“Politics is no longer about coming from fourth position to become governor. It is about genuinely mobilising support and winning elections from the polling units,” Wike said.
He argued that politicians seeking support for their state-level contests should resolve their local political challenges rather than linking such disputes to Tinubu’s presidential campaign.
The minister further urged political stakeholders to concentrate on the presidential election before turning their attention to state contests.
“After the President has been reelected, we can all go and face elections in our states,” he said.
Wike reiterated that his commitment to Tinubu’s re-election should not be interpreted as an undertaking to prevent the PDP from fielding candidates in other elections.
“What I said, and what I stand by, is that I will mobilise support for the re-election of the President. I never promised anyone that the PDP will not field candidates to contest governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections,” he said.
He added that the Rainbow Coalition was intended to mobilise support for Tinubu across political party lines rather than serve as an extension of the APC.
“Most importantly, the Rainbow Coalition has nothing to do with the APC. Rather, it is our way of mobilising support across political parties for Mr President,” Wike said.
The exchange highlights a developing political distinction ahead of 2027: while Wike is presenting his coalition as a cross-party effort focused on the presidential election, APC governors have stressed their commitment to the party’s candidates across the different levels of the election.
