The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has again taken a swipe at Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, amid the controversy surrounding the Rainbow Coalition and its political alliances ahead of the 2027 elections.
Wike, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, said Nigerian politics had gone beyond the idea of becoming a governor from the fourth position.
His latest remark came after governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress criticised the Rainbow Coalition.
The governors expressed their position at a meeting chaired by Uzodinma, where they indirectly distanced themselves from Wike’s political coalition.
The development has further exposed the growing rift between Wike and Uzodinma ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Reacting to the APC governors’ position, Wike said the Rainbow Coalition had nothing to do with the APC.
He challenged the governors, particularly Uzodinma, to focus on political issues in their respective states rather than using President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid to create sentiments.
Wike said he had consistently supported the mobilisation of votes for Tinubu’s re-election but never promised that the Peoples Democratic Party faction loyal to him would not field candidates for other elections.
He said, “In Imo State under Governor Hope Uzodinma, how did APC win two senate seats in 2023, in an election held the same day with that of the President, and APC had less than 15 percent in the presidential election? Was it the Rainbow Coalition? Were the voters confused?
“Was it the Rainbow Coalition that also made APC win National Assembly elections in Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu States, where the President did not have ten percent of the votes?
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“If in 2023, the voters in Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi voted APC in the senatorial election and voted for another party in the presidential election, they won’t be confused in 2027, provided we all support the President genuinely this time?
“After the President must have been re-elected, we can all go and face elections in our states.
“What I said and stand for is that I will mobilise support for the re-election of the President. I never promised anyone that the PDP will not field candidates to contest governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.
“Most importantly, the Rainbow Coalition has nothing to do with the APC. Rather, it is our own way of mobilising support across political parties for Mr President, who has done well to deserve a second term.”
