Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has challenged Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Hope Uzodimma, over the level of support President Bola Tinubu received in Imo State during the 2023 presidential election.
Wike said his focus ahead of the 2027 election was to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election and not to interfere in governorship or other local political contests across the states.
In a statement on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, Wike said the Rainbow Coalition had no connection with the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He described the coalition as a platform bringing together members of different political parties who support what he described as the achievements of the Tinubu administration and want the President re-elected.
The minister said he would not take responsibility for helping politicians secure victory in their respective states, insisting that local political challenges should be handled by those involved.
“Politics is local and those having problems in their States should resolve them instead of using the reelection of the President to whip up sentiments.”
Wike also recalled that he did not meet with the APC before he and other members of the G5 supported Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, stressing that his current political objective remains focused on the President’s re-election.
He argued that political success should be measured by the ability to mobilise genuine support and win votes at polling units, rather than relying on past political positions.
Wike specifically questioned the voting pattern in Imo State during the 2023 elections, pointing out that APC candidates won two Senate seats while the party received less than 15 per cent of the presidential votes in the state.
“In Imo State under Governor Hope Uzodimma, how did APC win two Senate seats in 2023, in an election held the same day with that of the President and APC had less than 15 percent in the presidential election? Was it Rainbow Coalition? Were the voters confused?
“Was it Rainbow Coalition that also made APC to win National Assembly elections in Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu states where the President did not have ten percent 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?”
The FCT minister urged political stakeholders to prioritise the presidential election before turning their attention to state-level contests.
“After the President must have been reelected, we can all go and face elections in our states.”
Wike clarified that his commitment to Tinubu’s re-election did not mean that other political parties would be prevented from fielding candidates in the 2027 governorship and legislative elections.
“What I said and stand for is that I will mobilise support for the re-election of the President. I never promised anyone that PDP will not field candidates to contest governorship, National Assembly and States House of Assembly elections.
“Most importantly, Rainbow Coalition has nothing to do with the APC. Rather, it is own way of mobilising support across political parties for Mr President, who has done well to deserve a second term,” he added.
The comments followed a warning from APC governors against the establishment of parallel political structures that could undermine Tinubu’s re-election campaign in 2027. The position was widely viewed as a response to the Rainbow Coalition associated with Wike.
Uzodimma, who Wike had recently accused of sponsoring political attacks against him, made the declaration on behalf of the APC governors on Monday night during a closed-door meeting at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.
Source: FCT Minister’s Media Office
