The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has responded to the position of Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, and other All Progressives Congress governors on the Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.
Wike, through his spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, said on Tuesday that political contests in Nigeria had moved beyond the old calculations of emerging as governor despite coming from a lower position in an election.
His latest comment followed a meeting of APC governors led by Uzodinma, where the governors appeared to distance themselves from the Rainbow Coalition associated with Wike.
The development has added to the political differences between Wike and Uzodinma as political activities increase ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Wike maintained that the Rainbow Coalition was not an APC arrangement but a platform through which politicians from different parties could mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
He said his support was specifically for Tinubu’s presidential bid and did not amount to an agreement that the Peoples Democratic Party would withdraw from other elections.
According to Wike, PDP members aligned with him could still contest governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections in their respective states.
The former Rivers governor also pointed to the results of the 2023 elections in Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi states as examples of how voters could support different political parties in presidential and legislative elections held on the same day.
He questioned how the APC was able to secure two senatorial seats in Imo State in 2023 despite the party recording less than 15 per cent in the presidential election in the state. He also referred to APC victories in National Assembly elections in Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu, where Tinubu’s presidential votes were comparatively low.
Wike argued that such voting patterns showed that voters could make separate choices in different elections and would not necessarily be tied to one political party across all ballot papers.
He urged political actors to concentrate first on the presidential election and deal with state-level contests afterward.
The minister also said politicians facing difficulties in their states should address their local political issues rather than use Tinubu’s re-election campaign as a means of generating political disputes.
Wike further stated that he had never promised any politician that the PDP would not field candidates in the 2027 governorship and legislative elections.
He maintained that his commitment was to mobilise support for Tinubu across political parties, while leaving other electoral contests open to candidates and parties in the various states.
The latest exchange comes as political groups and parties begin to position themselves for the 2027 elections, with alliances and disagreements over the proposed Rainbow Coalition becoming part of the emerging political debate.