2027: APC Governors, Wike Clash Over ‘Rainbow Coalition’

Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have rejected political alliances they believe could create parallel structures or weaken the party ahead of the 2027 general elections, in an apparent response to the “Rainbow Coalition” being championed by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

The Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, announced the governors’ position after a closed-door meeting in Abuja on Monday night.

Uzodimma said the governors would neither support nor endorse any political arrangement capable of undermining President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid or adversely affecting APC candidates at any level.

He said the governors’ campaign commitment would remain exclusively with candidates fielded by the APC.

“The APC Governors Forum unanimously resolved that its members will not participate in, support or endorse any alliance or political arrangement capable of undermining the re-election of Mr President, weakening the APC or adversely affecting any candidate of the party at all levels.”

Uzodimma added that the governors would take charge of mobilising support for Tinubu’s re-election across their respective states while aligning their campaign structures with the APC’s objectives.

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The declaration came amid growing political tensions surrounding Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, which the FCT minister says is designed to mobilise support across political parties for Tinubu’s re-election.

Wike, however, has maintained that the coalition is not an APC structure and does not imply that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should refrain from fielding candidates for governorship and legislative elections in 2027.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, Wike said his commitment was specifically to Tinubu’s presidential re-election and not to APC candidates contesting other positions.

He argued that political parties could support a presidential candidate while still fielding candidates for other elective positions.

Wike also questioned the concerns raised by the APC governors, citing the 2023 elections, when voters in some states supported APC candidates in legislative elections while voting for candidates of other parties in the presidential election.

He maintained that the Rainbow Coalition was aimed at securing support for Tinubu and not at strengthening the APC’s candidates in state and legislative contests.

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The dispute has also drawn a response from the PDP, which defended Wike’s political activities and argued that he has the constitutional right to decide whom he supports politically while retaining his membership of the opposition party.

The party said Wike’s support for Tinubu should not be interpreted as an abandonment of the PDP, which it said remains free to field candidates in the 2027 elections.

The latest disagreement has further exposed the competing political interests surrounding the 2027 elections, with the APC governors seeking to maintain the party’s electoral structure while Wike continues to advocate a broader coalition focused on Tinubu’s presidential bid.