Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike has named three governors from the All Progressives Congress (APC) who are opposed to his Rainbow Coalition Movement.
Mr Wike spoke when he appeared as a guest on the TVC News’ Journalist’s Hangout on Monday.
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The Rainbow Coalition
Mr Wike runs the Rainbow Coalition, a multi-party political arrangement, to support President Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
The All Progressives Congress governors, under the aegis of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), oppose the coalition, describing it as a political arrangement that could undermine the party and its candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
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The PGF is chaired by Mr Uzodimma, who has picked the APC’s ticket for Imo West District despite the fact his tenure as governor will elapse in January 2028, six months after the 11th Senate would have been inaugurated in June 2027.
The three APC governors
During the TV show, Mr Wike claimed Mr Uzodimma, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State and their Ogun State counterpart, Dapo Abiodun, were fighting the Rainbow Coalition Movement for “selfish reasons.”
The FCT minister suggested that other APC governors who joined in the PGF meeting against the coalition had no reason to do so because they had no problems like the trio of Messrs Uzodimma, AbdulRazaq and Abiodun.
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“Let me tell you what’s going on. Governor Hope Uzodimma, Governor of Kwara (Mr AbdulRazaq), Governor Dapo Abiodun and some of them who have their own problems and cannot solve their own internal problems think that they can muscle me because they said I am going to support Mr President (in 2027) and therefore, PDP will not have their candidates,” he said.
The former Rivers State governor stressed that the governors believe that the coalition would deprive them of the power to secure victory for their chosen APC senatorial and House of Representatives candidates.
Mr Wike said some politicians, including incumbent federal lawmakers, secured PDP senatorial and House of Representatives tickets after the governors allegedly denied them APC tickets.
He specifically said the governors were jittery that the politicians who secured PDP tickets after losing APC tickets could work against their political interests if they win in the general election.
The FCT minister argued that it was better that the politicians joined the PDP, an opposition party backing Mr Tinubu, rather than the African Democratic Congress (ADC) or the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
“These people came to take refuge in (PDP) a place that is supporting Tinubu, and you (governors) are angry.
“If they had gone to the ADC or NDC – who are frontally opposed to Mr President – is that what they want?” he asked.
For context, Mr Wike is officially a national leader of the PDP faction recognised by the court and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
However, the FCT minister works in the administration of Mr Tinubu, who is a member of the ruling APC.
He has continued to openly express support for the re-election of the president in 2027.
What the governors wanted to do
Mr Wike, during the TV show, argued that the governors’ opposition to the Rainbow Coalition Movement was linked to the Senate Presidency position and that of Speakership of the House of Representatives.
READ ALSO: Wike challenges Obi’s supporters to produce result sheet showing he won Rivers in 2023
The FCT minister maintained that the governors, during the APC primary elections, fought to secure tickets for senatorial and House of Representatives candidates whom they would use to determine who emerges Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2027.
“Now, what they did in convincing Mr President is to say that, ‘look, there are a lot of local variables. In our local area, this man cannot go because of this.’
“And Mr President is not from there. He had to listen to them,” he said.
Mr Wike claimed that although the governors succeeded in securing APC tickets for their choice candidates, they ended up creating problems for themselves in their states which forced APC members who lost their tickets to switch to the PDP and secured the party’s tickets ahead of 2027.
“If you think you have the capacity to remove everybody and put your own (candidates), Okay. (But) solve the problem,” he said.
The FCT minister maintained that Mr Tinubu was aware of the workings of his coalition.
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