The battle between the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over his Rainbow Coalition has taken a new turn in the South-East, as chairmen of the party in the zone met and openly rejected the coalition.
The meeting, led by the Imo State APC Chairman, Chief Austin Onyedebelu, ended with a blistering attack on Wike, who was described as a threat to Nigeria’s democracy, with the chairmen declaring total support for the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) led by Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma.
The leaders said Wike had no basis to assume a status equal to President Bola Tinubu or treat elected APC governors as political subordinates.
The chairmen said they fully endorsed the PGF’s call for comprehensive support of all APC candidates from the presidency down to the Houses of Assembly, and rejected what they termed the “rainbow (chameleon) coalition,” vowing to resist any attempt to weaken APC structures in the region ahead of 2027.
According to the leaders, the South-East APC stands solidly with all progressive governors and candidates at all levels in the forthcoming 2027 elections.
Onyedebelu took the fight directly to Wike declaring that it would back its governors’ stance on the Rainbow Coalition while also describing him as a threat to Nigeria’s democracy.
He stressed that the minister could not belong to the PDP and the APC simultaneously, while advising him to choose one.
“If Wike wants to work for Mr President, he should join his train,” Onyedebelu said, echoing the position that has become the official line of the APC governors.
City People gathered that Onyedebelu, who has become the arrowhead of the South-East pushback, went further to label Wike as an enemy of democracy whose dual political loyalty undermines internal party discipline and the principle of party supremacy.
Onyedebelu also accused Wike of using the coalition to revive the PDP and pursue an alleged presidential ambition, describing him as a “threat to Nigeria’s democracy”.
The Rainbow Coalition was initiated by Wike as a broad alliance of politicians across party lines, with the principal aim of mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Wike has however insisted that his political support is specifically for Tinubu’s presidential bid and does not amount to an endorsement of APC candidates in other contests.
But the APC Governors’ Forum, led by Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, has kicked against arrangements seen as capable of undermining the party’s structures and candidates.
The face-off escalated after Wike, during a T.V interview listed three APC governors he said were opposed to his coalition. Wike named Imo State governor , Uzodinma, Kwara State governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun among APC governors opposed to his Rainbow Coalition.
Wike argued that political parties should remain free to field candidates for governorship and legislative seats even while backing Tinubu.
The governors disagree. Their position, which the South-East chairmen have now adopted, is that you cannot be on two sides. The PGF has argued that such an arrangement could undermine Tinubu’s re-election campaign and weaken the APC at state level.
The South-East Chairmen’s resolution is significant because it has the open backing of Governor Uzodimma, who as Chairman of the PGF, leads the national resistance to the coalition, and of other APC governors.
Wike himself acknowledged that several governors are lined up against him, while claiming that other governors quietly support the coalition’s activities.
Political analysts say the Imo-led revolt signals that the 2027 battle line is now drawn not just between the APC and opposition parties, but within the ruling party’s own support base, as it grapples with how to accommodate powerful non-members like Wike who claim to support Tinubu without joining the APC.
Wole Alakija
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