A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Joe Igbokwe, has urged FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to meet with the party’s governors and explain his proposed Rainbow Coalition aimed at mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027. Igbokwe made the call while reacting to the disagreement between Wike and the APC governors over the minister’s political initiative. Wike had described the governors as “politically lazy” after they rejected his proposed cross-party coalition, while the chairman of the APC Progressive Governors’ Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, said the governors would not support any political arrangement that could undermine the APC or Tinubu’s re-election.
Speaking on the development, Igbokwe said Wike remained an important political stakeholder whose influence could not simply be disregarded. You can ignore him to your own peril. He has the followers,” Igbokwe said.
However, he questioned the timing and approach of the Rainbow Coalition, saying Wike needed to consult the APC governors and explain his intentions to them. “Coming at this time, to put this (Rainbow Coalition) on the table, it’s not… he has to listen to majority, sit down with the governors and explain,” he said. According to Igbokwe, the disagreement should be resolved through conversations rather than public exchanges between the minister and the governors.
Explain to your colleagues what you are trying to do,” he added. The post Wike should meet APC governors, explain his Rainbow Coalition — Joe Igbokwe appeared first on Vanguard News. Powerful blocs within the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, are increasingly concerned about the spread of the National Rainbow Coalition, backed by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, across states controlled by the ruling party.
The coalition, which Wike insists is primarily aimed at securing President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, has nevertheless thrown up alliances involving opposition parties and politicians opposed to APC candidates at state and National Assembly levels. The development has raised particular concerns in Rivers, Kwara, Gombe and Cross River, where coalition-backed candidates and political realignments are challenging existing APC structures. APC governors and their allies are worried that the arrangement could create confusion among voters and weaken the party’s candidates in elections taking place alongside the presidential poll.
Wike, however, has maintained that his political objective is to support Tinubu while working with politicians across party lines. Speaking during a media chat in Port Harcourt, Wike specifically accused Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Senator Hope Uzodimma, and Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, of campaigning against him. “Take, for example, Kwara; he has been the one championing this campaign against me.
Summary from source