The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has taken a swipe at the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors, insisting that his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election should not be interpreted as an agreement for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to surrender other elective positions to the ruling party.
Wike made the remarks while responding to debates surrounding his support for Tinubu and the “rainbow coalition” ahead of the 2027 elections.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, the minister said the coalition had nothing to do with the APC, but was designed to mobilise support for Tinubu across different political parties.
Taking his argument to the APC’s performance in the South-East during the 2023 elections, Wike pointedly referenced Governor Hope Uzodimma’s Imo State, questioning how the APC won two senatorial seats in the state despite recording less than 15 per cent of the presidential votes.
“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?” Wike asked.
He extended the challenge to other South-East states, questioning whether the APC’s victories in National Assembly elections in Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu were also the product of the “rainbow coalition”, given that Tinubu secured less than 10 per cent of the presidential votes in those states.
“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?” he asked, arguing that the 2023 results demonstrated that voters could support different political parties in presidential and legislative elections held on the same day.
Wike said the same voting pattern could occur in 2027, provided political stakeholders genuinely mobilised support for Tinubu’s re-election.
He therefore urged those involved in the political debate to separate the President’s contest from governorship and legislative elections in the states.
According to him, his position has never been that the PDP should abandon its candidates in other elections. “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,” he said.
The minister also said he would not be responsible for helping politicians secure victories in their respective states, insisting that “politics is local” and those facing political challenges should resolve them at the state level rather than using Tinubu’s re-election bid to whip up sentiments.
Wike recalled that he and other members of the G5 did not negotiate with the APC before backing Tinubu in 2023, stressing that his support for the President in 2027 remained specifically for the presidential election.
He added that the “rainbow coalition” was simply a platform for people across political parties who believed Tinubu deserved a second term.
