The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has drawn a clear distinction between his support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 and the electoral fortunes of the All Progressives Congress candidates contesting governorship and legislative elections.
Wike said his commitment was specifically to mobilising support for Tinubu’s presidential bid, stressing that the Peoples Democratic Party remains free to field candidates for governorship, National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly elections.
The clarification followed the rejection of his proposed Rainbow Coalition by governors elected on the platform of the APC, who said they would not support any political arrangement capable of weakening the party or undermining its candidates in the 2027 elections.
Wike, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, also dismissed suggestions that the Rainbow Coalition was an arrangement with the APC.
He described the coalition as a platform for politicians from different political parties who support Tinubu’s re-election.
“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 State House of Assembly elections.”
According to the minister, supporting Tinubu at the presidential level should not automatically translate into support for APC candidates in other elections.
Wike argued that Nigerian voters had demonstrated in previous elections that they could vote for candidates from different political parties in presidential, senatorial and other contests held on the same day.
He cited the 2023 elections in Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi states, where, according to him, APC candidates won some National Assembly seats despite the party recording significantly lower presidential vote shares in those states.
“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,” Wike said.
He also maintained that the Rainbow Coalition was not established to secure victories for particular politicians in their respective states.
“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,” he said.
Wike urged political stakeholders to concentrate on the presidential election before turning their attention to the governorship and legislative contests.
“After the President is re-elected, we can all go and face elections in our various states,” he said.
The position has, however, brought the minister into disagreement with the APC Governors’ Forum, which has insisted that its members will campaign for candidates officially sponsored by the ruling party.
The forum, chaired by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, said its members would not participate in or endorse an alliance capable of weakening the APC, affecting its candidates or undermining Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The governors’ position effectively places emphasis on maintaining the APC’s organisational structure across the presidential, governorship and legislative elections.
The dispute therefore centres on whether support for Tinubu’s presidential ticket should also translate into support for APC candidates at other levels of the 2027 elections.
While Wike insists that his support for the President can exist alongside PDP participation in other contests, the APC governors have maintained that their campaign commitment covers the party’s candidates across the various levels of the elections.
The PDP has also defended Wike’s position, arguing that supporting Tinubu does not amount to abandoning the opposition party or preventing it from participating in the 2027 elections.
The party said Wike, as a PDP member, could support a presidential candidate from another party while the PDP continues preparations to field its own candidates for other elective positions.
The development has added a new dimension to preparations for the 2027 elections, particularly as political parties and individual politicians continue to negotiate alliances that may operate differently across presidential, governorship and legislative contests.
For Wike, however, the immediate objective remains the mobilisation of support for Tinubu’s re-election, while the PDP retains the option of contesting other positions.
The disagreement with the APC governors has consequently placed the Rainbow Coalition at the centre of a wider debate over whether presidential and down-ballot elections should be treated as separate political contests or as parts of a single party campaign structure.
