Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress have distanced themselves from any political alliance with the Rainbow Coalition being championed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The governors said they remained committed to the APC and its candidates at all levels, insisting that they would not support any political arrangement capable of weakening the party or undermining its candidates.
Chairman of the APC Governors Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, disclosed this after the governors’ meeting in Abuja on Monday night.
Uzodimma said the forum had not entered into any formal agreement or alliance with Wike or any other individual or opposition political group ahead of the 2027 elections.
Wike, a former Rivers State governor and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, has been promoting a Rainbow Coalition in Rivers State in support of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The coalition has reportedly been positioned as a platform for politicians seeking to challenge candidates of the ruling party in some governorship and senatorial contests.
Wike had recently alleged that Uzodimma and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, were behind some of the political challenges facing him, attributing the development to the growing influence of his coalition.
Responding to the development, the APC governors declared that they would not participate in any arrangement that could create divided loyalty or competing interests within the ruling party.
Reading the communiqué issued after their meeting, Uzodimma said the governors’ primary responsibility was to support candidates officially sponsored by the APC.
“The APC Governors Forum unanimously resolved that its members will not participate in, support or endorse any alliance or political arrangement capable of undermining the re-election of Mr President, weakening the APC or adversely affecting any candidate of the party at all levels,” he said.
He added that the governors had no intention of supporting candidates who were not contesting under the APC platform.
“In other words, the forum has no intention to support any candidate at any level that is not an APC candidate because our candidates who are contesting the election are being sponsored by our party,” Uzodimma stated.
The forum chairman said the governors’ campaign activities would be focused exclusively on APC candidates and aligned with President Tinubu’s re-election bid and the strategic objectives of the party.
“All levels of the party campaign architecture will align with the expectations of Mr President and the strategic objectives of the party,” he said.
The declaration effectively distances the APC Governors Forum from the Rainbow Coalition and underscores the party’s efforts to consolidate its political structure ahead of the 2027 general elections.