Wike Draws Battle Line With Uzodinma, Vows to Block Senate Presidency Bid

• FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has drawn a fresh battle line with Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, declaring that he will never support the governor’s reported ambition to become President of the Senate in 2027 and insisting that his opposition is not personal.

• Wike accused Uzodinma of using his position as Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) to pursue an agenda that could strengthen his own Senate presidency bid.

• The FCT minister said politicians who have lost out in APC nomination processes are increasingly seeking alternative platforms, including the PDP, with some aligning with his Rainbow Coalition.

• The confrontation comes as the Rainbow Coalition triggers a widening political dispute between Wike and APC governors, with Wike insisting that the coalition is designed to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election, while the APC Governors Forum says it will support only the party’s candidates at all levels.

September 21, () – Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has drawn a fresh battle line with Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, declaring that he will never support the governor’s reported ambition to become President of the Senate in 2027.

Wike, who spoke on TVC News’ Journalists’ Hangout on Monday, accused Uzodinma of using his position as Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) to advance a personal political agenda ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The former Rivers State governor said his opposition to Uzodinma’s Senate presidency ambition was already well known, stressing that it was not a personal matter.

“Life or death, I will never support Hope Uzodinma to become the Senate President of Nigeria. Everybody knows that. Nobody should ask me questions about it, it is not personal,” Wike said.

The declaration represents a significant escalation in the increasingly bitter political exchanges between the two men, coming barely days after the APC Governors Forum, under Uzodinma’s leadership, rejected any political alliance capable of weakening the ruling party or its candidates in the 2027 elections.

At a meeting in Abuja last week, the APC governors said they would not participate in or support any political arrangement that could create divided loyalty within the party or adversely affect APC candidates. Uzodinma said the governors’ campaign commitment would remain exclusively with APC candidates at all levels.

Wike: Uzodinma Pursuing Personal Agenda

Wike, however, contended that Uzodinma’s opposition to the Rainbow Coalition was connected to his own political calculations.

According to him, Uzodinma is approaching the end of his second term as Imo governor and intends to contest for the Senate in 2027, with the ultimate objective of becoming Senate President.

“He wants to run for Senate president, and what he does is to say to his colleagues, let us be the ones (governors) who will produce the senators and members of the House of reps,” Wike said.

He alleged that some governors were supporting the strategy without fully appreciating what he described as Uzodinma’s personal interest.

“Of course, some of the governors are not experienced. So they buy it, thinking that he is trying to make them powerful. Not knowing that he has his own interest and agenda to become Senate President,” he said.

Wike also accused the Imo governor of creating an internal political problem and then resorting to blackmail rather than resolving it.

“You cause internal problem for yourself and you do not have the capacity to solve the problem and all you do is to resort to blackmail,” he said.

The FCT minister further questioned Uzodinma’s political emergence in Imo State, referring to the 2019 governorship election in which Uzodinma initially placed fourth before the Supreme Court declared him the winner in January 2020.

‘I Will Never Support Him’

Wike linked his opposition to Uzodinma’s Senate ambition to the growing movement of politicians who, having lost out in APC nomination battles, have moved towards alternative platforms.

He said some of the politicians had found opportunities to contest under other parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with support from structures associated with the Rainbow Coalition.

“Now, the other people who they have removed and not given ticket have found an alternative to run. And he knows that if they run and they win, it means that they are not going to support him to be the Senate President,” Wike said.

The minister argued that the emergence of such candidates outside the APC could complicate efforts to build the kind of National Assembly bloc that would be necessary for Uzodinma to pursue the Senate presidency.

His position comes against the backdrop of increasing defections and political realignments ahead of the 2027 elections, with aggrieved APC politicians in some states reportedly gravitating towards Wike’s coalition. Recent reporting has identified such developments in states including Kwara, Gombe, Rivers and Cross River.

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Battle Over Rainbow Coalition

The dispute between Wike and Uzodinma is rooted largely in their opposing positions on the Rainbow Coalition.

Wike, a prominent member of the PDP who currently serves in President Bola Tinubu’s APC-led administration, has presented the coalition as a cross-party platform for mobilising support for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

He has repeatedly argued that supporting Tinubu for President does not require politicians to abandon their respective parties or prevent those parties from fielding candidates for governorship and legislative elections.

“I never promised anyone that PDP will not field candidates to contest governorship, National Assembly and House of Assembly elections,” Wike said in an earlier response to the APC governors’ position.

That position has become a major source of friction with APC governors, who fear that politicians could support Tinubu at the presidential level while simultaneously contesting against APC candidates in governorship and legislative elections.

The APC Governors Forum has consequently drawn a clear distinction between support for Tinubu and support for the APC as a party, insisting that its members would campaign for the President and all official APC candidates.

Uzodinma, announcing the governors’ position, said the forum would not endorse any alliance capable of undermining the APC or adversely affecting its candidates.

APC Governors Close Ranks

The governors’ resistance has further widened the political confrontation with Wike.

The APC South-East caucus recently backed the governors and called on Wike to apologise for his criticisms of them, accusing him of attempting to influence the political fortunes of APC governors ahead of the 2027 elections.

The governors maintain that their primary responsibility is to strengthen the APC’s electoral structures and ensure the success of the party’s candidates.

Wike, on the other hand, has insisted that the Rainbow Coalition has nothing to do with the APC and that his principal objective is to mobilise support across party lines for Tinubu.

He has also criticised the political performance of some APC governors, questioning whether they can deliver the necessary support for Tinubu in their respective states.

In one of his recent responses, Wike pointed to the disparity between APC victories in some National Assembly elections and Tinubu’s performance in the 2023 presidential election in states such as Imo, arguing that voters could support different parties for different offices.

2027 National Assembly Battle, 2031 VP Slot

The growing dispute has also brought the control and composition of the National Assembly into sharper focus.

Uzodinma’s reported interest in the Senate presidency would make the outcome of the 2027 National Assembly elections particularly significant, as the emergence of lawmakers from different political platforms could influence the eventual leadership of the Senate.

Wike’s latest declaration therefore goes beyond a disagreement over the Rainbow Coalition.

His refusal to support Uzodinma means that the FCT minister is openly positioning himself against one of the key political figures involved in organising APC governors ahead of the 2027 elections.

At the same time, the Rainbow Coalition continues to attract politicians dissatisfied with APC structures. Recent reports indicate that the movement has expanded beyond Rivers State, with aggrieved politicians and former APC figures aligning with the platform in different parts of the country.

Beyond the immediate 2027 contest,  political commentators have linked Wike’s nationwide political networking and the Rainbow Coalition to possible ambitions and negotiations ahead of 2031.

One such analysis has also identified the potential Vice-Presidential slot as part of the longer-term political calculations involving influential figures from the South-East and South-South.

However, Wike on Monday rejected speculation that he is currently positioning himself for the 2031 presidency.

He said it was premature to begin making plans for an election that is still several years away, adding that President Tinubu would also have an interest in determining who succeeds him if he does not seek another term.

“By 2031, Mr President will not run, and he will have an interest in who will succeed him, and I will not be at loggerheads with his interest,” Wike said.

The minister also dismissed suggestions that his present political activities were designed to position him for the presidency, saying the circumstances of 2031 would ultimately determine the direction of political alignments.