A fresh political battle over the direction of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign has erupted within the broader pro-Tinubu political camp, as the APC Grassroots Governance Organisation accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, of creating confusion and division through his Rainbow Coalition.
The group, in a statement, warned that the cross-party coalition being promoted by Wike must not be presented as an extension of the All Progressives Congress, insisting that the ruling party and the coalition are separate political structures.
Its intervention comes amid growing disagreement between Wike and governors elected on the APC platform over how support for Tinubu should be mobilised ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Progressive Governors Forum, chaired by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, had resolved that APC governors would support President Tinubu alongside all candidates officially sponsored by the party, rejecting political arrangements they said could weaken APC candidates at other levels.
Against that background, the APC Grassroots Governance Organisation accused Wike of attempting to isolate Uzodimma and portray him as being opposed to efforts aimed at securing Tinubu’s re-election.
The organisation commended Uzodimma for what it described as his commitment to the APC and praised Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, for his leadership.
According to the group, the disagreement goes beyond personal differences and raises questions about party loyalty, campaign structures and the interests of APC candidates contesting governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections.
It argued that while Wike is entitled to mobilise support for the President, his Rainbow Coalition should not be confused with the APC or presented as part of the ruling party’s campaign machinery.
“The Rainbow Coalition is not the APC. It is not an APC organ. It is not an APC campaign structure. It does not speak for APC governors, APC candidates or APC members,” the organisation said.
The group maintained that APC governors have a responsibility to campaign not only for Tinubu but also for candidates sponsored by their party.
It questioned how Wike, who has remained outside the APC, could seek to influence the campaign strategies of governors whose party candidates could face opponents from other political parties participating in the Rainbow Coalition.
The organisation also challenged the FCT minister over what it described as “divided loyalty,” arguing that supporting Tinubu while backing political arrangements involving opponents of APC candidates could create competing interests ahead of the elections.
It therefore called on Wike to end what it described as attacks against Uzodimma and attempts to draw APC governors into a political arrangement outside the formal structures of their party.
“Our loyalty is to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to the All Progressives Congress, and to every candidate duly sponsored by the party,” the group said.
Wike: Rainbow Coalition Has Nothing to Do With APC
Wike, however, has rejected suggestions that his Rainbow Coalition is an APC structure or that he approached APC governors to join the arrangement.
The FCT minister said the coalition was specifically designed to mobilise support across party lines for Tinubu’s re-election and was never intended to campaign for other APC candidates.
Through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, Wike maintained that his support for Tinubu did not prevent the Peoples Democratic Party or other political parties from fielding candidates against the APC in governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections.
Wike also argued that voters could support Tinubu in the presidential election while voting for candidates of other parties in other contests, citing voting patterns in parts of the South-East during the 2023 general elections.
The minister further rejected criticism from APC governors, insisting that he had never sought to make the Rainbow Coalition part of the APC.
His position puts him at odds with the Progressive Governors Forum, which has declared that its members’ campaign commitment will remain exclusively with APC candidates at all levels.
The widening disagreement underscores an emerging political fault line ahead of 2027: whether support for Tinubu’s re-election should operate strictly through APC structures or accommodate cross-party platforms whose members may oppose APC candidates in other elections.
With both sides insisting that their approach serves the President’s re-election effort, the dispute over the Rainbow Coalition is likely to remain a major issue as political mobilisation intensifies ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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