Why Tinubu ‘endorsed’ Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, by ex-gov - The Guardian Nigeria News

Plots by state governors to ambush President Bola Tinubu’s re-election and call the shots in the immediate post-2027 general election informed the President’s decision to accept the proposed electoral collaboration with the nationwide Rainbow Coalition, The Guardian has learnt.

Also, a member of the House of Representatives, Abdulmumin Jibrin, defended the political activities of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, saying the Rainbow Coalition is aimed at strengthening the President’s chances of winning the 2027 presidential election.

Meanwhile, the opposition Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has turned Wike’s resignation vow into a political challenge, telling the minister to prepare his resignation letter rather than attempt to dictate how Abuja residents will vote.

But Wike has described the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential ticket of Atiku Abubakar and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi as a joint ticket of corruption, boasting that Tinubu’s re-election will be asier than his election in 2023.

Suspense arose within the All Progressives Congress (APC) following disagreements over the modalities for the political collaboration between the leadership of the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF) and the leader of the coalition, Wike.

Wike had explained that the decision to expand the coalition into a nationwide support platform for Tinubu’s re-election was informed developments in the polity, including the sidelining of some prominent political leaders in the ruling party.

But, the PGF, umbrella caucus of state governors elected on the platform of APC, rejected the coalition, stressing that by creating a parallel political structure, Wike and his group wanted to create confusion in APC to prepare the grounds for the revival of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The FCT minister accused the governors of Imo, Kwara and Ogun states of spearheading the antagonism against the Rainbow movement, stressing that Governors Hope Uzodimma, AbdulRahmanAbdulRazaq and Dapo Abiodun were blaming him for their inability to solve internal political challenges in their states.

However, a former governor in the North-Central confided in The Guardian that the Rainbow Coalition was a child of circumstance, pointing out that the movement became inevitable when some APC governors started planning to hold Tinubu to ransom.

He disclosed that after the governors started ganging up to stand up to the President over the composition of the party structure and working against some foundation federal lawmakers, “the President was reminded of a similar scheme against former President Goodluck Jonathan.”

While asserting that prominent political leaders subscribed to the Rainbow Coalition to pool together strategies for the President’s second term, the former two-term APC governor explained that the coalition gained stature after Tinubu bought into the idea of multi-party support.

“I can tell you that as we speak, not less than four former governors are part of this movement. The former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki; Senator Danjuma Goje; former governors of Jigawa and Benue states are active members of the coalition,” he remarked.

According to the former state chief executive, those fighting the FCT for the Rainbow Coalition are ill-advised, “because if the President’s re-election is central to their concerns, they should have met with the President to thrash out whatever were their concerns.

“At a time the President is being profiled as an enemy of democracy, the members of the PGF should be happy that some respected leaders of opposition were coming together to promote the President.”

JIBRIN, who spoke on TVC News ‘Politics’, said the coalition should not be viewed as a threat to the APC or the President, arguing that Wike remains an important political asset to help expand Tinubu’s support base beyond the ruling party.

His comments came after the PGF rejected any political arrangement capable of undermining the APC or its candidates in the 2027 elections.

The governors had resolved that their members would not participate in or endorse any alliance that could weaken the APC, adversely affect its candidates or undermine Tinubu’s re-election.

Jibrin, however, said the governors should engage Wike politically rather than confront him.

“For me, the Rainbow Coalition has no negative effect on the President,” he said. “If the governors perceive that the Rainbow Coalition will affect them, they should negotiate with Wike.”

He argued that the governors’ concerns about the coalition’s possible impact on their elections showed that they recognised Wike’s political strength.

According to Jibrin, Wike’s political influence makes him an asset that should be managed through dialogue, describing him as a “deal maker” who could have been an even greater advantage to opposition parties if he were not working with the APC.

NDC said Wike’s promise to quit office if Tinubu fails to win the FCT and Rivers State exposed the minister’s confidence to a simple test: the ballot box.

Wike had on September 30 told members of the Apo Mechanics and Traders Association in Abuja that he would resign as FCT minister on January 17, 2027, if Tinubu lost either of the two territories he claims as his strongholds.

But the NDC Publicity Secretary in FCT, Samuel Iloh, said the minister was overestimating his political influence, particularly in the nation’s capital.

“If not that he is taking Nigeria as a banana republic, how could a politician be making such a claim when he has only one vote to cast for the President in Rivers and not even in the FCT?” Iloh argued.

He alleged that Wike’s confidence was linked to an “election rigging mechanism,” but said FCT voters would be prepared to defend their votes during the election.

He cited the 2023 presidential election when Peter Obi won the FCT with 281,717 votes against Tinubu’s 90,902.

WIKE, during town halls with the Rumueme and Apara kingdoms in Obio-Akpor Local Council of Rivers State, yesterday, said the ADC ticket would struggle to secure the constitutionally required 25 per cent of votes in Rivers, while dismissing the opposition alliance as a coalition built around politicians with questionable records.

He also criticised Atiku over comments urging Nigerians to accept money offered by the ruling party during elections, describing it as an attempt to promote anti-corruption despite his past controversies, urging the people to set aside political sentiments and support Tinubu based on what he described as the administration’s achievements and appointments from Rivers.