The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has declared that his political allegiance is solely to President Bola Tinubu and not the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Wike, who insisted that his support for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 remained sacrosanct, said he never promised that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will not field candidates for other elective positions, including governoship and legislative offices in state and national levels.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, the minister said the rainbow coalition being promoted by him does not have anything to do with the APC.
The statement was apparently a response to APC governors who reportedly distanced themselves from his rainbow coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The chairman of APC Governors Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, had announced the position of the governors, branding Wike’s rainbow coalition as a “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.”
But Wike pointed out that the coalition remains a platform for other political parties that are pleased with the good works of President Tinubu and are supporting his reelection.
According to him, politics is local and those having problems in their states should resolve them instead of using the re-election of Tinubu to whip up sentiments.
The minister explained that he never met with the APC before himself and other members of the G5 supported the President in 2023, adding that his support is for the president only in the 2027 poll.
Wike argued that politics is no longer about coming from fourth position to be governor, saying it is about genuinely mobilising support and winning elections from the polling units.
He further said, “In Imo State under Governor Hope Uzodinma, 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 minister urged all stakeholders to put the presidential election first, saying “after the President must have been re-elected, we can all go and face elections in our States.”
He added: “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 our own way of mobilising support across political parties for Mr President, who has done well to deserve a second term,” he said.
