The growing disagreement between Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike and governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has extended into several states, with state chapters of the APC and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) taking different positions on the dispute.
The disagreement centres on the political arrangement known as the Rainbow Coalition, which Wike has promoted as a platform supporting President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election while also allowing opposition parties to field candidates in state-level contests. APC governors have publicly distanced themselves from the arrangement, saying they intend to support the party’s candidates.
Wike has defended his position, maintaining that his commitment is to support Tinubu for the presidency and that this does not prevent the PDP from contesting other elections.
The disagreement has generated political reactions in states including Rivers, Imo, Kwara, Benue, Katsina and Gombe, where different party leaders and political groups have begun taking positions on the issue.
In Rivers State, where the coalition has attracted significant attention, the APC and PDP have both responded to the disagreement involving Wike and the APC governors. The development has further widened the debate over how support for Tinubu’s presidential bid should relate to contests for other political offices.
In the South-East, APC leaders have backed the position of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), which has said the party’s candidates should receive the support of its political structure in the 2027 elections. The South-East APC leadership also rejected the Rainbow Coalition and said it would resist any attempt to weaken the party’s structures in the region.
The position was contained in a joint statement signed by APC National Vice Chairman (South-East), Dr Ijeomah Arodiogbu, and the party chairmen in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states.
The leaders criticised Wike’s comments about APC governors and described his attacks on them as unacceptable. They argued that the governors were elected leaders whose records and political responsibilities should be respected.
In Imo State, APC Publicity Secretary Dr FCC Jones Onwuasoanya said the party remained aligned with Governor Hope Uzodimma’s position.
He said the APC did not need to enter into a coalition with another political group to secure support for Tinubu and other APC candidates during the elections.
“We advise the Minister of the FCT to quit playing games with our party. His Excellency Nyesom Wike is a politically stranded politician and should show some gratitude to President Bola Tinubu and our party for offering him a political shelter and accommodating his vociferous excesses.”
Onwuasoanya further alleged that Wike was attempting to use the popularity of the APC to advance candidates associated with his faction of the PDP.
“We know that he is trying to hide under our party’s popularity to push through the candidates of his factionalised PDP, but we will not allow that.”
In Benue State, the APC said Wike’s Rainbow Coalition did not pose a threat to the party or Governor Hyacinth Alia ahead of the 2027 elections.
State APC Publicity Secretary Benedict Yawe said the PDP had previously governed Benue and argued that voters would consider the party’s record when making their choices.
“The opposition PDP in Benue State is not much on ground and is not a threat to the APC and the re-election of Governor Hyacinth Alia in 2027. The PDP governed Benue State before and where are the party’s achievements? The PDP performed poorly and Benue people have not forgotten about the party’s poor leadership and performance.”
In Kwara State, APC Chairman Prince Sunday Fagbemi criticised the Rainbow Coalition and urged Wike to join the APC if his primary objective was to support Tinubu.
Fagbemi argued that the arrangement could create confusion because supporters of the different parties involved would still be expected to vote for their respective candidates in other elections.
“The so-called rainbow coalition is confusing and a grand deceit; a ploy to undermine the president. Wike and his co-travellers are not helping Mr. President. How do they want to educate their supporters to vote for different parties and candidates during the elections? Let Wike face his party. He should come to the APC if he’s truly working for Mr. President,” Fagbemi said.
In Katsina State, some PDP leaders have also distanced themselves from the Rainbow Coalition, maintaining that the arrangement does not represent the position of PDP members in the state.
Muhammad Ahmad, a leader of a Katsina PDP support group, said the party remained committed to its candidates for the 2027 elections. He said Wike was free to support Tinubu, but PDP members in Katsina would continue to work for the party’s candidates.
“We have our candidates across the board, and we cannot abandon them to support another party’s candidate,” he said.
Former Chairman of the Councillors’ Forum in Katsina State, Dauda Kurfi, also criticised Wike’s decision to establish the Rainbow Coalition. He argued that political alliances should be built through political parties rather than through the efforts of an individual.
The widening disagreement comes after the APC Governors’ Forum formally distanced itself from political arrangements that could undermine APC candidates in the 2027 elections. Wike, in response, said he had never approached the forum to form an alliance and maintained that his support for Tinubu was separate from support for APC candidates in other contests.
The dispute has therefore moved beyond the national level, with party leaders and political actors in several states now publicly taking positions on the future of the Rainbow Coalition and its relationship with the APC and PDP ahead of the 2027 elections.
