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By: Oke Steve
A Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and former South-East spokesman for President Bola Tinubu, Hon. Denge Josef Onoh has tackled the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Minister, Nyesom Wike over his formation and use of the Rainbow Coalition group for his campaigns for the reelection of President Tinubu and other candidates of the party in Rivers State.
Onoh who described Wike’s “Rainbow Coalition” platform as a Trojan horse that could split the APC ahead of 2027, noted that the group lacks structure beyond Rivers State.
The former Presidential spokesman urged APC stakeholders to reject any parallel structure and insist that Wike formally registers as an APC member at his ward or steps aside immediately from the Tinubu administration.
Onoh urged the FCT Minister to either formally join the APC or stop interfering in the ruling party’s affairs.
Onoh, who also serves as the Chairman of the Forum of Former Members of the Enugu State House of Assembly, criticised the political alliance being promoted by Wike, contending that the Rainbow Coalition, could weaken the APC ahead of the 2027 elections.
Hon.Onoh in a statement issued in Abuja, expressed fears that the group was deliberately designed to create divisions within the ruling party during and after the 2027 general elections in the country.
“This so-called ‘Rainbow Coalition’ is a toxic distraction, a political mirage, and a well-calculated vehicle for personal ambition that will ultimately undermine the All Progressives Congress and jeopardise the presidential election if left unchecked,” he stated.
Onoh argued that the coalition lacked the political structure required to deliver substantial votes to President bTinubu beyond Rivers State, maintaining that Wike’s political influence was largely concentrated in Rivers and questioned the attempt to extend what he called the “fractured blueprint” to other parts of the country.
The former presidential aide also dismissed comparisons between Wike’s current alignment and the G5 governors’ alliance that emerged before the 2023 election, noting that the G5 was based on regional interests, consisting of five serving governors who controlled established political structures in their respective states.
Recalling his own involvement in the efforts to strengthen the APC in the South-East while working with former Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Onoh pointed out that political realignments often came with consequences for those involved, noting that Wike’s current coalition lacked the institutional structure and electoral reach previously associated with the G5.
“Today, Wike’s new ‘Rainbow Coalition’ has completely crumbled from that standard. It is not an alliance of powerful state executives; it is a desperate collection of political castaways, disgruntled ex-office holders, and floating political contractors who hold no real electoral value in their own political wards,” he said.
The former Assembly member also criticised Wike’s recent disagreements with Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, describing the disputes as a diversionary tactics by the FCT Minister aimed at creating tensions in parts of the North-Central and South-East in order to weaken APC structures in the regions.
“By attacking highly respected APC governors who are the authentic custodians of the party’s grassroots votes, Wike is actively sowing the same seeds of discord that he used to tear the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) apart,” Onoh alleged. He accused Wike of attempting to influence the APC from within using tactics that, according to him, contributed to divisions in the PDP.
The APC chieftain further rejected the idea of encouraging voters to support Tinubu for the Presidential election while urging supporters to vote for the opposition candidates in the National Assembly elections, insisting that such an arrangement could undermine the APC’s chances of securing a strong legislative majority since presidential and parliamentary elections are conducted simultaneously in the country.
“We cannot exchange a robust, organic party victory for a transactional arrangement,” Onoh said.
The former lawmaker who cited the 2023 elections in Enugu State where attempts made to combine support for candidates from different political parties contributed to the PDP’s losses in the elections.
He therefore urged APC stakeholders to resist any attempt to establish a parallel political structure within the ruling party adding that Wike should clarify his political allegiance if he intends to continue influencing affairs within the APC.
Onoh explained that the Nigeria’s political space has no room for what he called double agents, political rent-collectors, or part-time allegiance, adding “You cannot have one foot in the PDP, keep the other foot floating in a vague coalition, and expect to dictate the fortunes and internal architecture of the APC.
Our position is simple: either Nyesom Wike fully, formally and unconditionally registers as a card-carrying member of the APC at his political ward, or he must step aside immediately.”
Onoh maintained that the APC already had sufficient structures and grassroots support across the country to secure Tinubu’s re-election without what he described as Wike’s “damaging, self-serving distractions.”
