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By
Nemi Tamuno
The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, is facing a fresh internal crisis, with sources pointing to a deep rift between the party’s governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over his cross-party Rainbow Coalition.
What began in January 2026 as a tactical alliance of APC, PDP, Labour Party and Action Alliance members during the Wike-Fubara supremacy battle in Rivers State has now become a subject of national controversy within the ruling party.
The coalition was initially presented as a vehicle to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027. However, top loyalists of the President now allege it has evolved into a parallel political structure with a hidden long-term agenda.
Former South-East spokesman to President Tinubu, Denge Josef Onoh, has alleged that the coalition is being strategically positioned to build political influence across several states. According to Onoh, the ultimate objective is to create a strong bargaining bloc for the 2031 vice-presidential ticket, when it is widely expected that the presidency will return to the North.
This allegation is corroborated by political intelligence from Cross River State, where analysts argue that Wike’s decision to remain in the PDP, despite serving in an APC government, is deliberate. They contend that the PDP remains the only viable platform that could offer him a path to the presidency or vice-presidency in 2031, since the APC presidential ticket is expected to be zoned North.
The development has triggered a strong reaction from the Progressive Governors Forum, PGF. Led by its Chairman and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, the Forum reportedly held a tense closed-door meeting at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.
At the end of the meeting, the governors unanimously resolved that no APC governor will participate in, support or endorse any alliance capable of undermining President Tinubu’s re-election or weakening APC candidates at any level.
Onoh described the governors’ resolution as a “courageous act of political preservation,” warning that the Rainbow Coalition is a “calculated Greek gift” designed to create parallel structures and divided loyalties within the APC.
There are indications that the coalition is already active in several APC-controlled states. In Rivers, Kwara, Gombe and Cross River, the coalition is said to be backing PDP candidates against incumbent APC governors.
In Kwara, aggrieved APC members have reportedly aligned with the political structure of former Senate President Bukola Saraki, with Senator Saliu Mustapha said to have resigned from the APC to pick the PDP ticket for Kwara Central. In Cross River, a coalition comprising PDP, Labour-Obidient and ADC elements, allegedly backed by Wike, is mounting a challenge against Governor Bassey Otu.
Sources close to Wike claim his strategy is to house anti-incumbent APC forces inside the PDP, thereby preventing them from defecting to the opposition coalition led by Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi under the ADC platform.
The coalition has, however, faced stiff opposition from other parties. The Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, has distanced itself from Wike’s claim that all parties are under his umbrella, stating that it never authorised him to speak on its behalf and describing his claim as “unfounded, misleading and exists only in the imagination of the FCT Minister.” Similarly, the ADC and Labour Party chapters in Rivers State have publicly declared that they are not part of the Rainbow Coalition.
Reacting through his media aide, Lere Olayinka, Wike insisted he is not running for president in 2027 or 2031 and that his position remains “Tinubu till 2031.” He however clarified that his support for President Tinubu in 2027 does not automatically extend to APC governors.
The Imo dimension has added a personal twist to the rift. Sources revealed that tension escalated when Wike’s loyalists attempted to promote former PDP National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, a known Wike ally who contested against Uzodimma in the 2023 governorship election, as the next governorship candidate in Imo without consultation with the incumbent governor. Wike had previously warned that allowing Uzodimma to return would be a grave mistake for Imolites.
Analysts question why Wike has refused to formally join the APC. The consensus is that by remaining in the PDP, he retains control of a major opposition platform which he can deploy as a negotiating tool, while simultaneously denying the PDP a united front against Tinubu.
For President Tinubu, the arrangement appears mutually beneficial for now. Wike is expected to deliver Rivers State and help fracture the PDP from within. But for Wike, sources say, the stakes are existential.
In a recent media chat in Port Harcourt, Wike openly admitted his fears should Tinubu lose in 2027.
“I will be the first politician that I think they will come after. I will be the first politician. I know they will come for my head,” he said, adding that Atiku and Obi would target him first.
“Each day I sleep, I am thinking about the president’s reelection. When I am eating, I think about the president’s reelection. Everything I am doing now is about the president’s reelection.”
For Wike, 2027 is beyond an election. It is a battle for political survival, as a loss for Tinubu would mean losing his ministerial cover, facing a potential PDP vendetta for crippling the party from within, and risking a total collapse of his political structure in Rivers State.
Dr. Tamuno is the President Rural Initiative for Community Empowerment, RICE.
