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Go Face Your State Elections, Rainbow Coalition Support For Tinubu, Not APC – Wike Hits Back At Progressive Governors
Go Face Your State Elections, Rainbow Coalition Support For Tinubu, Not APC – Wike Hits Back At Progressive Governors
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Nyesom Wike has fired back at APC governors over their opposition to political alliances capable of weakening the ruling party, insisting that his Rainbow Coalition is designed solely to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election.
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The FCT Minister challenged the governors to concentrate on their own state elections, declaring that he never promised to help APC candidates win governorship, National Assembly or State House of Assembly elections.
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Wike also took a direct swipe at Imo Governor Hope Uzodimma, questioning how APC won two Senate seats in the state in 2023 when Tinubu secured less than 15 per cent of the presidential vote, asking pointedly whether that was already a “rainbow coalition”.
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The latest exchange exposes a growing fault line within the pro-Tinubu camp over whether support for the President’s second-term bid should automatically translate into support for APC candidates at governorship and legislative levels.
September 15, () – The political battle over the structure and beneficiaries of the emerging 2027 pro-Tinubu coalition has intensified, with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, telling APC governors to “go and face” their state elections while making it clear that his Rainbow Coalition is not a vehicle for delivering victories to APC candidates.
Wike, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, on Tuesday declared that his political commitment for 2027 is to President Bola Tinubu’s re-election and not to candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) contesting governorship, National Assembly or State House of Assembly seats.
His position came against the backdrop of a meeting by APC governors in Abuja, where the governors resolved that they would not participate in, support or endorse political alliances or arrangements capable of undermining Tinubu’s re-election, weakening the APC or adversely affecting the party’s candidates at any level.
The governors also pledged to take charge of Tinubu’s 2027 campaign structures across their respective states and align the party’s campaign machinery with the President’s re-election bid and the broader objectives of the APC.
Although the governors did not expressly name Wike or the Rainbow Coalition in their resolution, their position has been widely viewed against the background of the cross-party political arrangement being championed by the FCT Minister and other political actors to mobilise support for Tinubu while allowing politicians to pursue their own political interests at state and legislative levels.
Wike, however, rejected any suggestion that supporting Tinubu must translate into supporting APC candidates in other elections.
‘My Support Is For Tinubu, Not APC Candidates’
According to the former Rivers State governor, politicians who are facing battles in their states should resolve those problems themselves rather than attempt to use Tinubu’s presidential re-election bid as a means of securing support for their local candidates.
“I won’t be the one to help people win elections in their states. Politics is local. Those having problems in their states should resolve them instead of using the President’s reelection to whip up sentiment”, Wike said.
He maintained that there was no agreement between him and the APC before he and other members of the G5 governors’ group backed Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.
“I never met with the APC before myself and other members of the G5 supported the President in 2023. For 2027, my support is for the President only”, he said.
‘Rainbow Coalition Has Nothing To Do With APC’
Wike also rejected the impression that the Rainbow Coalition was created as an alternative APC structure or as a mechanism to weaken the ruling party.
“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, who has done well and deserves a second term”, he stated.
Wike also dismissed what he described as an old-fashioned approach to Politics in which politicians expect to become governors simply by attaching themselves to influential national figures or political arrangements.
“Politics is no longer about coming from fourth place to become governor. It is about genuinely mobilising support and winning elections from the polling units”, he added.
Wike urged politicians to first concentrate on ensuring Tinubu’s return to the Presidency before turning their attention to their individual state and legislative contests.
“After the President has been reelected, we can all go and face elections in our states. What I said, and what I stand by, is that I will mobilise support for the reelection of the President. I never promised anyone that the PDP will not field candidates for governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections”, he emphasised.
The statement amounts to a rejection of any expectation that his support for Tinubu should extend to an electoral pact with APC candidates across the country.
Wike Challenges Uzodimma Over 2023 Imo Results
Wike went further by challenging Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, Hope Uzodimma, to explain the voting pattern that produced APC victories in the state’s National Assembly elections in 2023 despite the party’s relatively weak presidential showing.
He specifically pointed to APC’s victory in two senatorial seats in Imo during the 2023 elections, when Tinubu reportedly secured less than 15 per cent of the presidential vote in the state.
“In Imo State under Governor Hope Uzodimma, how did the APC win two Senate seats in 2023, in an election held the same day as the presidential election, when the APC had less than 15 percent in the presidential election? Was it a rainbow coalition? Were the voters confused?” Wike asked.
He extended the argument to other South-East states, including Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu, where voting patterns in the presidential and legislative contests also differed.
Wike questioned whether the APC’s legislative victories in some of those states could be attributed to the kind of cross-party mobilisation now being criticised by some APC leaders.
“If in 2023 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 genuinely support the President this time”, he concluded.