Rainbow Coalition: Wike taunts APC governors, says he never promised PDP won’t field candidates

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has taunted governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over their opposition to the Rainbow Coalition he is promoting to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

Mr Wike, a leader of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a member of the APC-led federal government, challenged the governors to focus on campaigning for Mr Tinubu rather than intervening in the coalition.

The minister clarified in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, in response to the APC Governors Forum’s position on the coalition.

PREMIUM TIMES previously reported that the APC Governors Forum, chaired by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, opposed any political coalition or alliance that could threaten the party and its candidates’ chances in the 2027 elections.

Mr Uzodimma, who is also the secretary of the Tinubu Campaign Council, argued that aligning with such a political arrangement could undermine Mr Tinubu’s re-election bid and weaken the APC ahead of the elections.

Some APC leaders had earlier expressed concerns about the coalition, particularly following allegations that Mr Wike was using the platform to support politicians who lost the APC primaries and are now contesting elections on the PDP platform.

Wike taunts Uzodimma

Mr Wike took a swipe at Mr Uzodimma over his emergence as governor of Imo State after the 2019 governorship election, in which he initially placed fourth before the Supreme Court declared him the winner in 2020.

The minister said Nigerian politics had moved beyond relying on court declarations and should now focus on grassroots mobilisation and winning votes at polling units.

Although Mr Uzodimma’s name was not mentioned in the statement, the remark was apparently directed at the Imo governor.

“The minister said politics is no longer about coming from fourth position to be governor, it is about genuinely mobilising support and winning elections from the polling units,” he said.

‘Can APC governors deliver Tinubu’s votes?’

Mr Wike also questioned Mr Uzodimma’s ability to deliver Imo State for Mr Tinubu in 2027, citing the state’s voting patterns in the 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections.

He noted that whereas APC candidates won two senatorial seats in Imo State in 2023, Mr Tinubu secured less than 15 per cent of the presidential votes cast in the state.

“In Imo State under Governor Hope Uzodinma, how did APC win two senate seats in 2023, in an election held the same day as that of the President, and APC had less than 15 per cent in the presidential election? Was it a rainbow coalition? Were the voters confused?” he asked.

Mr Wike extended his criticism to the governors of Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu states, where Mr Tinubu also performed poorly in the 2023 presidential election despite APC candidates winning some National Assembly seats.

“Was it the Rainbow Coalition that also made the APC to win the National Assembly elections in Ebonyi, Abia, and Enugu, where the President did not have 10 per cent of the votes?

“If in 2023, the 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 support the president genuinely this time,” he said.

Mr Wike urged the governors to pay greater attention to Mr Tinubu’s re-election campaign than they did to his 2023 campaign.

“After the President has been reelected, we can all go and face elections in our states.”

I never promised PDP won’t field candidates

Responding to allegations that he was using the coalition to support politicians against the APC, Mr Wike said he had never promised that the PDP would not field candidates in the 2027 elections.

“What I said and stand for is that I will mobilise support for the reelection of the President. I never promised anyone that PDP would not field candidates to contest the governorship, National Assembly, and House of Assembly elections.

READ ALSO: 2027: Rainbow Coalition mobilising for Tinubu’s re-election, not for APC – Wike

“Most importantly, the Rainbow Coalition has nothing to do with the APC. Rather, it is their own way of mobilising support across political parties for Mr President, who has done well to deserve a second term,” the minister stated.

Mr Wike is backing the PDP group led by Abdulrahman Mohammed. The group is recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to which it submitted its list of candidates.

It is also presenting Sandy Onor, a former senator, as its presidential candidate in the 16 January election, though the minister said he supports President Tinubu.

A faction of the PDP led by Kabiru Turaki, a former minister of special duties and senior lawyer, still claims to be the party’s authentic group.

The faction had attempted to present former President Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate in the 2027 poll.