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• South-East leaders, Benue stakeholders back govs •Vow to resist parallel structures, demand sanctions • Jibrin caution APC, says: ‘Don’t push Wike away, party needs his political capital’
From From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Romanus Ugwu, Abuja and Noah Ebije, Kaduna
As opposition within the All Progressives Congress (APC) to Nyesom Wike’s “Rainbow Coalition” spreads, federal lawmaker, Abdulmumin Jibrin and political stakeholder Abdulhakeem Adegoke Alawuje, have cautioned the ruling party against pushing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister away, arguing that his political capital and support remain important to President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
Their interventions came as APC leaders in the South-East and stakeholders in Benue State rallied behind the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), rejected parallel political arrangements that could undermine the party’s candidates and, in the case of Benue, demanded sanctions against members found engaging in anti-party activities.
The competing positions have sharpened the battle within the ruling party over whether Wike’s cross-party mobilisation for Tinubu should be accommodated even where members of the coalition support opposition candidates against APC contestants in governorship and legislative elections.
Jibrin, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today, urged APC governors to engage Wike through dialogue rather than public attacks, arguing that the former Rivers State governor had made significant political sacrifices for Tinubu and the ruling party despite remaining a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Wike is an asset to the APC. I don’t think Wike should be embarrassed at this moment with public statements,” he said.
Jibrin maintained that Wike’s contribution should not be discounted because he had not formally joined the APC.
“I believe that Wike has sacrificed, he handed over Rivers to APC, Wike had candidates FCT election but asked them to step down for APC. Wike came into this government as government of national unity. In reality we should be fair to him, he has done far more than that,” he said.
He said his intervention was driven by concern that the escalating dispute could affect the coalition supporting Tinubu’s re-election.
“I’m not holding any brief for Wike, but I think anything that is going to touch on the stability of the journey towards delivering the President I like to make my intervention,” he said.
Jibrin argued that cross-party support for Tinubu should not automatically be treated as an attempt to undermine the APC, noting that politicians outside the ruling party were also backing the President.
“For the governors, they should take Wike as part of them.
“If there is problem at the state level, the entire coalition that he is doing is for the President, if anybody at the subnational level feels it may work against him or his interest, they should discuss with Wike, but I do not think Wike should be embarrassed with statements,” he said.
Alawuje reinforced Jibrin’s position, urging APC leaders and governors to embrace political accommodation and strategic cooperation with Wike rather than allow their differences to degenerate into confrontation.
He argued that political alliances sometimes required parties to work with influential figures outside their formal structures where they shared common objectives.
“Wike may not be a man that everybody within our political family naturally wants to embrace, but politics is not always about who we like. Sometimes, it is about understanding who we need, what role such a person can play, and how our collective interests can be protected,” Alawuje said.
According to him, APC leaders should distinguish between formal party membership and political partnership.
“We must learn to distinguish between party membership and political partnership. Not everybody working for the success of our common political objective must necessarily carry an APC membership card,” he said.
“Some people contribute their structures, influence, relationships, resources and political experience from outside the party. Such contributions should not automatically be treated as threats.”
Alawuje, however, said accommodation must work both ways, urging Wike to respect the APC’s structures, rules and internal processes whenever his political activities intersected with the party.
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“Wike needs the APC, and the APC also needs every genuine political force that is willing to work toward the same objective. Nobody gains when political disagreements become permanent conflicts.
“We must learn to manage our differences without destroying our common ground,” he said.
He cautioned both camps against inflammatory rhetoric and public confrontation, arguing that the party could maintain discipline without shutting out political allies.
“The greatest mistake any political family can make is to spend all its energy fighting people who could otherwise be partners.
“We should not allow individual disagreements to consume the political capital required to pursue our collective goals,” he said.
But the South-East APC leadership took a harder line, throwing its weight behind the PGF and vowing to resist attempts to weaken the party’s structures and candidates in the zone.
In a joint statement signed by APC National Vice Chairman (South-East), Ijeomah Arodiogbu, and the party chairmen in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states, the leaders backed the governors’ insistence that APC members should support the party’s candidates from the presidency down to the state Houses of Assembly.
They also condemned Wike’s recent attacks on members of the governors’ forum as “most unfortunate, reprehensible and completely unacceptable.”
Rejecting what they called a “rainbow (chameleon) coalition,” the South-East leaders warned that they would resist parallel arrangements capable of undermining the APC’s structures and candidates.
“We in the South East stand solidly with all Progressive Governors and candidates of our party at all levels in the forthcoming 2027 elections,” they declared.
They maintained that the APC was “bigger than any individual” and urged members to rally behind all candidates presented by the party.
The opposition to the coalition also spread to Benue, where the Concerned Benue APC Stakeholders and Strategic Alliance called for sanctions against party members found to be participating in arrangements detrimental to APC candidates.
Convener of the group, Dominic Alancha, urged the national and state leadership to enforce the party’s constitution without regard to the status or influence of those involved.
“Nobody should expect immunity because of his or her position, history or influence as the constitution of the party treats everyone equal. The APC constitution is not meant for ordinary members alone.
“The constitution applies to everybody: big man or small man, leader or follower, elected official or party activist. The rules must be the same. Where credible evidence establishes that a member has violated the party’s rules, the appropriate authorities must act,” he said.
The stakeholders pledged to mobilise for the re-election of both Tinubu and Governor Hyacinth Alia.
“We will defend the APC mandate, and we will mobilise across Benue State for the re-election of Governor Alia and President Tinubu,” they said.
At the heart of the widening disagreement is Wike’s insistence that his Rainbow Coalition is a cross-party platform established to mobilise for Tinubu’s re-election and not an APC structure. He has maintained that his support for Tinubu does not mean opposition parties should abandon governorship and legislative contests against APC candidates.
The PGF, however, has rejected political arrangements capable of weakening the ruling party or hurting its candidates, insisting that its members will support APC candidates at every level in 2027.
