2027: Tinubu Should Intervene in Wike, APC Governors’ Dispute — PCC

The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC) has urged President Bola Tinubu to step into the escalating disagreement between FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and APC governors before the dispute affects the party’s preparations for the 2027 general elections.

The call followed a fresh exchange between Wike and the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) over the minister’s Rainbow Coalition, an initiative involving politicians across party lines.

APC PCC spokesman, Ima Niboro, said yesterday that the disagreement remained an internal political dispute that would ultimately be resolved.

The APC governors have objected to Wike’s political arrangement, arguing that its decision to field candidates from rival parties in several states could weaken APC candidates and affect Tinubu’s re-election campaign.

Wike, on his part, has dismissed the governors’ objections and described some of them as “politically lazy.”

The minister specifically criticised Kwara Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Imo Governor Hope Uzodimma over their opposition to the Rainbow Coalition.

The governors, under the leadership of Senator Hope Uzodimma, had earlier declared that they would not participate in, support or endorse any alliance that could undermine Tinubu’s re-election or hurt APC candidates across the country.

Speaking on Arise TV on Tuesday, however, Wike argued that supporting Tinubu did not mean he had abandoned the PDP or that other parties should be prevented from fielding candidates.

“They are politically lazy. When you have your local problems, don’t use Mr President as your excuse,” Wike said.

He maintained that the disagreement over his political activities had existed long before the current controversy, recalling the resistance he encountered after his appointment as FCT minister and during his tenure as Rivers governor.

“This thing did not start today. It started at my appointment as a minister. They were not happy that I was Minister of FCT. Also, they were unhappy when I was governor,” he said.

Wike also suggested that his critics lacked access to the information informing his political decisions.

“If they know what I know, they would not come out to shout,” he said.

The former Rivers governor further insisted that his support for Tinubu had not changed, stressing that backing the President was distinct from the affairs of his political party.

‘Quarrel Among Political Siblings’ — PCC

Responding to the controversy, Niboro described the disagreement as a conflict between political allies pursuing the same broad objective.

“I consider this a quarrel among political siblings. They are all working in the same direction, but there are differences in the details. Both camps agree that President Tinubu must return in 2027.”

He appealed to APC leaders to take their campaigns to the grassroots instead of continuing their disagreements through the media.

“If you’re a political leader, stop talking, go and work. Go and establish authority in your political base,” he urged.

Niboro acknowledged that the dispute was spreading beyond the national level into states and local government areas, but said Tinubu had the experience needed to manage the competing interests within the party.

“The ultimate beneficiary of this entire process is the President. The quarrel we are talking about is a quarrel that is trickling down to states and local government areas. But both camps agreed on re-electing the President. I do not see it as a direct challenge to the President himself, beyond the fact that he is a leader and it’s in his interest to intervene for peace.

“If I were the President, for instance, you know, the President is an astute, very experienced politician, you cannot take that from him, I think he is networking these people. I know that. You see this kind of quarrel, you remember when we used to be in the PDP, sometimes the party gets so big, it becomes its own opposition.

“Those days, (Vincent Ogbulafor and) Ali Modu Sheriff used to say that PDP will rule for 60 years and there’s no opposition, but PDP itself became its opposition.

“That’s how you had the breakaways from PDP and all those issues that led to the demise of PDP governance in this country. So, these are the issues that happen when you have big parties. It is inevitable. So, they have to be managed.

“These things have to be managed, and we have a leader who I think is competent enough to manage these things, and he will. Take my word.”

Igbokwe: Wike Must Explain Coalition to Governors

APC chieftain Joe Igbokwe said the controversy could be addressed if Wike sat down with APC governors to explain the purpose of his Rainbow Coalition.

He described Wike as a political force whose influence could not simply be ignored.

“Wike is a critical stakeholder. You can ignore him to your own peril. He has a command. He has followers,” Igbokwe said.

However, he questioned the timing of the initiative and urged the minister to consult the governors before proceeding.

“Coming at this time, to put this (Rainbow Coalition) on the table, it’s not… he has to listen to the majority, sit down with the governors and explain,” he said.

According to him, dialogue remained preferable to public confrontation.

“No man is an island. Explain to your colleagues what you are trying to do,” he added.

Okechukwu Warns Tinubu: ‘Beware of Pretenders’

Former VON Director-General Osita Okechukwu, meanwhile, warned President Tinubu to be cautious of APC governors calling for Wike to be abandoned.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja, Okechukwu said the disagreement should have been handled through the party’s internal structures.

“In my 48 years in party politics, I have never seen where such an elementary issue was pretentiously thrown open. May I ask the governors: don’t you have access to Mr. President, and what is the proverbial caucus meant for? My summation is simple: Mr. President, beware of pretenders,” he said.

He described those behind the campaign against Wike as “a few pretender governors, FPGs,” alleging that some had abandoned their electorates after using them politically.

“To the best of my knowledge, some of these FPGs have wittingly or unwittingly used their electorate and recklessly abandoned them, and now want Mr. President to dump Wike,” he said.

Okechukwu further warned against what he called a political trap involving succession battles in states where some governors had allegedly failed to deliver dividends of democracy.

He argued that Tinubu should not abandon Wike after benefiting from his political structure during the 2023 election.

“Truly, it is improper for Mr. President to dump Wike after we harvested the Wike masquerade, which not only boosted our great party’s votes in 2023, but also denied Atiku Abubakar substantial votes, and will mobilise voters in states where the FPGs had alienated the electorate by personalising power.”

Okechukwu also rejected the suggestion that the APC governors had been sidelined, saying Tinubu was interested in gaining additional votes.

“Mr. President has never overlooked the governors. All he wants is supplementary votes from Wike, especially in states where the electorate is angry and where some of the FPGs have alienated the people.

“The governors should concentrate on strengthening their relationship with the electorate rather than asking Mr. President to abandon a political alliance that could broaden the APC’s electoral reach.”

The APC foundation member urged Tinubu to maintain a broad political coalition and keep his options open as the country approaches the 2027 general elections.

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