APC State Chapters Reject Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, Ask Him to Join Party

State chapters of the All Progressives Congress have rejected the Rainbow Coalition being promoted by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, with some party leaders asking him to formally defect to the ruling party if he wants to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.

The development deepens the disagreement between Wike and sections of the APC over the political arrangement being built ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, has repeatedly declared his support for Tinubu’s second-term bid while maintaining that politicians involved in the Rainbow Coalition can support candidates of other political parties in governorship and legislative elections.

However, APC leaders in several states have questioned the arrangement, arguing that supporting the President while campaigning against other candidates of his party could create divided loyalties and confusion within the ruling party.

In Gombe State, APC Publicity Secretary Murtala Usman urged Wike to formally join the party, arguing that the APC does not need a separate Rainbow Coalition to campaign for Tinubu.

Usman said Wike should become a full member of the APC since he is already working for the President’s re-election, warning that the coalition could complicate relationships among party stakeholders in some states.

The Imo State chapter of the APC also rejected the coalition, maintaining that its political activities would remain centred on the ruling party and its candidates.

Similar concerns have emerged from other state chapters, where party officials insist that the APC should campaign for all its candidates rather than participate in an arrangement that could benefit opposition candidates in other elections.

The controversy follows the position of APC governors, who earlier declared that they would support only candidates officially sponsored by their party at all levels in the 2027 elections.

Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, had said the governors would not participate in any alliance or political arrangement capable of weakening the APC or affecting its candidates.

Wike has rejected suggestions that his coalition is designed to destabilise the ruling party. He maintains that its primary objective is to mobilise support across political parties for Tinubu’s re-election.

The FCT minister has cited the 2023 election, when members of the G5 governors supported Tinubu for President while backing candidates of their respective parties in other elections, as evidence that cross-party presidential support can operate without abandoning other political interests.

Wike has also maintained that Tinubu is aware of the Rainbow Coalition and insisted that supporting the President does not require him or his allies to abandon the PDP or candidates outside the APC.

The disagreement has now developed into a wider debate over the structure of Tinubu’s 2027 campaign, with APC governors and state leaders seeking to protect their party’s candidates while Wike continues to push for a broader cross-party platform focused on the President’s re-election.

With the 2027 elections approaching, the dispute is expected to remain a major issue within Tinubu’s political camp as both sides seek to define how cross-party support for the President should operate without undermining their interests in governorship and National Assembly contests.

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