By Summary
- Some APC governors and party leaders reportedly exploring backing for a different 2027 presidential candidate amid growing friction with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike
- PDP urges Wike to throw his weight behind its candidate, Senator Sandy Onor, instead of continuing to support President Tinubu
- Analysts say Tinubu must carefully balance his ties to Wike against the loyalty of APC governors ahead of next year’s election
Cracks within the ruling All Progressives Congress appear to be widening ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with sources telling AfrikTimes that some party governors and senior figures are quietly weighing support for candidates other than President Bola Tinubu, as tensions with Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike show no sign of easing.
Party insiders who spoke on condition of anonymity said a growing number of leaders, governors among them, now view Wike as a liability to Tinubu’s re-election bid rather than an asset, pointing to his repeated public clashes with state chief executives as a source of internal unease.
On the opposition side, the Peoples Democratic Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, told AfrikTimes the party would welcome Wike’s backing for its presidential flagbearer, Senator Sandy Onor, arguing that such a shift would work against Tinubu’s chances. Meanwhile, Ini Ememobong, publicity secretary of the Tanimu Turaki-led PDP Interim National Working Committee, dismissed the political maneuvering around Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, branding both the coalition and the APC as insincere actors more interested in confusion than in serving Nigerians.
Governors Push Back Against Wike
A minister still officially aligned with the PDP despite serving in an APC-led government, Wike has spent recent months building the Rainbow Coalition in Rivers State, framing it as a vehicle to support Tinubu’s second-term ambitions. But the project has strained his relationship with several APC governors, whom he has publicly accused of stoking opposition against him, naming Kwara’s AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Imo’s Hope Uzodimma as key antagonists.
Uzodimma, who also chairs the APC Progressive Governors’ Forum, responded after a forum meeting last week, insisting that governors would not endorse any political arrangement that risked weakening the party or undermining Tinubu’s re-election and that they remained committed to backing only APC candidates at every level.
For his part, Wike has stood by the coalition, maintaining that supporting Tinubu for president does not conflict with his right to support non-APC candidates in state-level races, and arguing that the two positions can coexist.
Internal Frustration Builds
According to a party source, discontent is especially pronounced among the governors of Ogun, Kwara and Imo states, who feel sidelined by Wike’s public commentary suggesting he alone could swing the president’s fortunes in 2027. The source said some leaders are now actively exploring whether to throw their support behind other candidates if the situation is not addressed, adding that many feel disrespected by a minister who remains a card-carrying PDP member despite his position in an APC administration.
A second source said the unresolved dispute was beginning to affect morale even among Tinubu loyalists, warning that continued attacks on the governors could cost the president support when it matters most in 2027. Both sources said the APC’s National Working Committee was holding off on any formal response, preferring to wait for a signal from Tinubu himself before acting, given how a previous attempt by the NWC to mediate a related dispute involving Wike and Rivers State had backfired.
Analysts Urge Caution
Former Nigerian Political Science Association president Professor Hassan Saliu said Tinubu would need to tread carefully, noting that sidelined politicians often seek alternative platforms and that the president cannot afford to lose either Wike or his governors this early in the electoral cycle. He suggested that without careful management, some APC governors could struggle to deliver their states convincingly and predicted Tinubu would ultimately try to keep all sides invested in his campaign rather than choosing between them.
Former APC Organising Secretary Eze Duru echoed that view, describing Tinubu’s political approach as deliberately incremental, revealing his strategy only where necessary. He pointed to the administration’s pattern since 2023 of absorbing support from outside the APC—including from the PDP, Labour Party, APGA, and, in Osun’s case, the Accord Party—as evidence that a similar coalition-building effort was likely already underway ahead of 2027.
For now, both the ruling party and its rivals appear to be watching closely to see whether Tinubu will step in personally to defuse the standoff between Wike and the governors before it hardens further.
(Punch)
