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• says re-election bid requires support beyond party lines
• Accuses opposition of misleading Nigerians, insists political rivalry can’t erase President’s achievements
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has dismissed concerns that the emerging Rainbow Coalition backing President Bola Tinubu’s re-election could undermine the All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that the initiative is designed to broaden support for the president across party lines.
Wike, who spoke at a media parley in Abuja on Tuesday, said APC governors and other party stakeholders had nothing to fear from the coalition, arguing that its primary objective was to mobilise support for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The minister, who coordinates the coalition’s activities in Rivers State and the FCT, explained that the arrangement brings together APC members and supporters of the president from other political parties to pursue a common political objective.
He said the coalition was not intended to replace the APC as the platform for Tinubu’s re-election but to expand the president’s support base beyond the ruling party.
“If you see that word, PBT/APC, it means those who are supporting the president who are not members of the party but are working together with the party to achieve that purpose,” Wike said.
According to him, the coalition recognises the different political realities across states while providing an avenue for individuals and groups who support the president’s second-term ambition to contribute to its success.
“The major thing is Mr President. Whatever we are going to do, whoever has any idea or anything to contribute is to the success of Mr President. That is the whole thing,” he said.
Wike dismissed suggestions that the coalition had generated tension among APC governors or could trigger divisions within the ruling party.
“I don’t know what concerns there are. As far as I am concerned, there is no problem,” he said.
Using the FCT as an example, the minister recalled his appeal to political stakeholders to support Tinubu and APC candidates for the National Assembly while allowing supporters of other parties to retain their preferences for candidates at other levels.
He said the approach reflected the need to accommodate local political interests without losing sight of the broader objective of securing the president’s re-election.
The former Rivers State governor argued that political leadership required the ability to persuade people from different backgrounds and affiliations to work towards a shared goal.
He maintained that support for Tinubu should not be restricted to APC members, stressing that individuals outside the party could contribute to the president’s electoral success without necessarily abandoning their political affiliations.
Wike also rejected suggestions that the coalition represented an entirely new phenomenon in Nigerian politics, noting that political actors had, in the past, supported presidential candidates outside their parties while maintaining separate political interests at the state level.
He said the current political environment had made such cooperation more visible and organised.
The minister reiterated that the coalition’s overriding objective was to secure Tinubu’s re-election, urging Nigerians to assess the president’s performance on its merits rather than allow party affiliations to determine their position.
He said the initiative was intended to bring together supporters with different political identities behind a common presidential ambition.
Wike also accused opposition politicians of deliberately misrepresenting President Tinubu’s performance for electoral gain, insisting that partisan interests should not stand in the way of an honest assessment of the administration.
He said Tinubu deserved recognition for the progress recorded under his government, irrespective of the political affiliation of those assessing him. He argued that the emerging Rainbow Coalition was, in part, a response to what he described as unfair and exaggerated criticism of the president.
The minister maintained that it was wrong for opposition figures to dismiss every policy or achievement of an incumbent administration simply because they seek to replace it.
“Whether anybody likes it or not, Mr President has done well,” he said.
He said the portrayal of the government as having achieved nothing was largely driven by the opposition’s ambition to take power, adding that political competition should not be treated as a zero-sum contest.
“Politics must not be played as a do-or-die affair,” Wike said, urging political actors to separate legitimate criticism from statements designed merely to discredit opponents.
The FCT minister cited remarks attributed to Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, of the opposition Allied Peoples Movement (APM), as an example of an opposition leader acknowledging aspects of Tinubu’s performance. He said such assessments showed that support for the president could come from outside the APC without amounting to a betrayal of opposition politics.
Coalition for president, not APC
Wike also defended the Rainbow Coalition, describing it as a cross-party platform for mobilising support for Tinubu’s re-election rather than an attempt to erase political differences.
He said the coalition accommodated APC members and supporters of the president from other parties, while allowing participants to retain their separate political identities and pursue their interests in state and legislative contests.
According to him, the arrangement recognises the different political realities across states and provides room for cooperation around a shared presidential objective.
“Most importantly, the rainbow coalition has nothing to do with the APC. Rather, it is our own way of mobilising support across political parties for Mr President, who has done well to deserve a second term,” Wike said.
He cited his coordination of support for Tinubu in the FCT and Rivers State, despite competing political interests in both areas, as evidence that the coalition could operate without imposing a rigid, uniform political structure.
Wike argued that a political leader’s influence should be measured by the capacity to persuade supporters to embrace a common course of action, saying the coalition would continue to welcome individuals willing to contribute to Tinubu’s re-election regardless of party affiliation.
His comments come amid intensifying political positioning ahead of the 2027 general election, with APC governors and opposition parties offering competing interpretations of the coalition’s implications for party structures and electoral strategy.
The minister insisted that Nigerians should judge the administration on its record rather than partisan claims, while also calling for closer scrutiny of politicians seeking higher office.
He said candidates should be prepared to account for their past decisions and stewardship of public resources, arguing that such scrutiny would help voters make informed choices and keep political competition focused on accountability.
