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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) over rainbow coalition political arrangement, has taken worsening dimension with some aggrieved APC governors going out of their way to explore the option of discreetly securing the support of the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar.
Rattled by the sordid silence of both the presidency and the national leadership of the ruling to the face-off between the members of the APC Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, some of them, considered counter-force to the Rainbow Coalition, have started exploring plan B to remain relevance during next year’s general elections.
Political sources familiar with the emerging realignments, disclosed that the development is part of efforts by some of them unhappy over Wike’s growing influence and the activities of the coalition in their states to build alternative political relationships outside the ruling party.
The sources further claimed that the concerned governors are intensifying their efforts following the reports that aggrieved APC leaders and politicians who lost out in the party’s primaries were increasingly gravitating towards Wike’s cross-party coalition.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the sources privy to the alleged moves, claimed that the 2027 governorship election, scheduled for February 6, 2027, three weeks after the January 16 presidential election has contributed in heightening the fears of the embattled governors
According to the source; “The governors are not entertaining any fears that Tinubu will win his re-election. However, their fears are rooted in Wike’s claims that President Tinubu had already ceded nine states to his coalition in the governorship election.”
“Such claims may appear as mere political bragging, but no one should dismiss them as cheap talk because, in politics, you can’t take anything for granted, especially when it concerns elections.
“The governors are not unmindful of the fact that Tinubu will not be seeking another election after 2027 and that it would cost him practically nothing to cede some states, as Wike claimed.
“With the fluid nature of Nigerian politics, it would take these Wike-aligned coalition politicians nothing to defect to the APC after winning the 2027 governorship elections in their respective states.
“We have witnessed a rash of such defections by opposition governors to the ruling APC in Nigeria’s recent political history, to believe that the threats are real. Recall that the incumbent governors of Bayelsa, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Taraba, Enugu, Adamawa, Kano and Rivers States had all defected from the opposition to the APC,” the source argued.
While justifying the alleged move further, the sources also claimed that some APC governors believe that if Wike could mobilise politicians from different parties against their political interests while simultaneously backing Tinubu at the presidential level, they should also be free to explore relationships with other political blocs.
“The governors are said to be particularly miffed by the Rainbow Coalition’s campaign message in their states urging the people to vote for Tinubu in the presidential election but vote PDP candidates in other federal and state elections,” the source argued.
“Atiku and the ADC have consequently emerged as one of the options being examined by the aggrieved governors, particularly in states where the Rainbow Coalition is perceived to be threatening existing political structures.
“The governors’ alleged moves could further intensify internal wrangling within the ruling party, as they seek to use ADC structures and Atiku’s political network as a counterweight to Wike’s growing cross-party mobilisation,” the source claimed.
Recent reports have documented increasing tensions between some APC governors and Wike, with the Minister specifically accusing Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and his Imo State counterpart, Hope Uzodimma, of opposing the coalition’s mobilisation drive.
Wike has been accused of allegedly scheming to project a prominent PDP leader from the North Central as a potential presidential candidate, with himself as running mate, ahead of the 2031 election.
“Consequently, he is said to be mobilising the PDP leader, who once headed a federal legislative institution, to dislodge existing APC structures in the North-Central state.
“The speculation has triggered reactions from some top APC leaders in the North West and North East zones, who fear they could be sidelined in the party’s 2031 presidential calculations,” the source noted.
Wike had, during a recent live television interview, also dismissed Governor Uzodimma’s senatorial ambition, stating that the South East will not get either the position of Senate President or Vice President in the coming dispensation.
Efforts to get reactions from the APC leadership or the PGF were not successful as of the time of filing the report.
