ABUJA — Tensions have intensified between Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over Wike’s “Rainbow Coalition” ahead of the 2027 general elections.


The disagreement followed a resolution by the APC Progressive Governors’ Forum that its members would not support any political alliance or arrangement capable of weakening the party or affecting its candidates in the 2027 elections.


The position was announced by the forum’s chairman and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, after the governors met in Abuja on Monday.


Uzodimma said the governors’ campaign commitment remained focused on APC candidates at all levels, stressing that the forum would not support candidates outside the party’s platform.


Wike, however, rejected the governors’ position, insisting that the Rainbow Coalition was established to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election and was not an APC structure.


In a statement issued through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, Wike said his support for Tinubu did not mean he had agreed to support APC candidates in governorship and legislative elections.


He maintained that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) remained free to field candidates for governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections in 2027.


Wike also said he had never approached the APC Progressive Governors’ Forum to seek an alliance for the Rainbow Coalition.


Speaking on Arise News, the minister said the governors’ rejection of the coalition was therefore misplaced, insisting that he was not answerable to them.


The former Rivers State governor further said President Tinubu was aware of his political activities and the Rainbow Coalition.


“There is nothing that I do that I don’t tell Mr President. I’m not answerable to APC governors,” Wike said, according to reports of the interview.


Wike also criticised the APC governors over their opposition to his political activities, describing them as “politically lazy”, a characterization attributed to him in reports of his response to the governors.


The APC governors, on their part, have maintained that their position is about protecting the party’s candidates and ensuring that the party’s political structure remains intact ahead of the 2027 elections.


The dispute has brought renewed attention to the political relationship between Wike, who remains a PDP member while serving in the APC-led Federal Government, and the APC leadership ahead of the next general elections.


While both sides have expressed support for President Tinubu’s re-election, they differ over how that support should relate to candidates contesting other elective positions.


The development comes as political parties and political actors intensify preparations for the 2027 elections.


Press Point News will continue to monitor the unfolding political developments surrounding Wike, the APC Governors’ Forum and the Rainbow Coalition.