The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has responded to the rejection of the Rainbow Coalition by governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Wike said the coalition had no bearing on the APC’s performance in the 2023 presidential election, adding that his focus ahead of the 2027 general election is to mobilize support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election, not to get involved in state-level political contests.
He stated this in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka.
The statement was in reaction to comments by APC governors, led by Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Hope Uzodimma, who had warned against the emergence of parallel political structures that could undermine Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Wike clarified that the Rainbow Coalition is not linked to the APC, describing it as a cross-party arrangement aimed at mobilizing support for Tinubu.
He questioned the level of support Tinubu received in Imo State during the 2023 presidential election, noting that the APC won two Senate seats in the state despite the President securing less than 15 percent of the presidential votes there.
He also cited Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi states, where APC candidates won National Assembly seats even though Tinubu polled less than 10 percent in some of those states.
According to Wike, the voting pattern raises the question of whether it was influenced by any coalition or simply reflected voters making different choices in different elections.
The FCT Minister stressed that his support for Tinubu in 2027 should not be interpreted as support for the APC in all other elections. He said he never promised that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would not field candidates for governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly polls.
His commitment, he said, is to ensure Tinubu’s return as president, after which politicians can focus on elections in their respective states.
Wike urged politicians facing internal challenges in their states to resolve them locally, rather than using the President’s re-election campaign to settle political scores.
He added that modern politics should be about genuine grassroots mobilization and winning votes at the polling units, rather than relying on political arrangements or past positions.
The Rainbow Coalition, he said, is simply an effort to galvanize support across party lines for Tinubu’s second-term ambition, and has nothing to do with the APC.
