Wike: I’m PDP, APC, Only Tinubu can question my political moves, not Governors
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, says only President Bola Tinubu has the authority to question his political decisions and alliance ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Wike stated this on Monday during an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time, amid rising tensions between him and governors of the All Progressives Congress, APC, over his Rainbow Coalition initiative.
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His comments came hours after the APC Governors’ Forum, after an emergency meeting in Abuja, reaffirmed its opposition to any political arrangement capable of undermining the party’s candidates in 2027.
The APC governors had resolved not to participate in, support, or endorse any coalition that could weaken the party, insisting that their support for Tinubu’s re-election must also translate to support for all APC candidates.
Wike, however, dismissed their position, insisting his loyalty is to Tinubu and not to the APC structure.
“The only person that can question me today is the President. No other person,” Wike said.
He clarified that his support is strictly for Tinubu’s presidential bid and does not mean he must support APC governorship and legislative candidates.
“There was never a day I went to the Governors’ Forum to align with the APC coalition. I have been talking about my alliance with political parties, and there was never one day that he referred to our alliance,” he said.
Wike recalled that he and other members of the G5 openly supported Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election and has never hidden his stance.
“When, in 2023, we said we were going to support Tinubu, I never knew that it mattered that a presidential election could be viewed from the angle of literacy and other considerations. It is about the trustworthiness and background of persons providing leadership,” he said.
He said his support for Tinubu’s second term is anchored on his belief that the presidency should remain in the South after eight years in the North.
“After the election, we decided to support you, and I have never hidden that. Because of my belief in the trajectory of the South producing the presidency, having had what has been done now for eight years. So, it would not be fair if the situation goes back to the North,” Wike stated.
The former Rivers governor argued that supporting Tinubu at the presidential level does not stop politicians from pursuing their own interests in other elections, citing examples.
“Soludo is supporting Mr. President. Does it mean that Soludo will not present candidates in the National Assembly election? Adeleke is supporting Mr. President. Does it mean that Adeleke will not support candidates in the National Assembly election? So you can see, the whole thing they are talking about has no basis,” he said.
Wike added that President Tinubu is fully aware of his political activities, stressing that he has never taken any major decision without informing him.
“And there’s nothing I have done that I have never told Mr. President what I intend to do. If they know what I know, they won’t come out to say that,” he said.
He urged political actors to focus on their states rather than trying to use Tinubu’s presidential campaign to secure support for their local candidates, dismissing claims that he wants to become more powerful than APC governors.
“I have heard them say that, oh, I’m presenting candidates so that I’ll be the most powerful person that has better legislators. It’s only Mr. President that put me in this position. If Mr. President said, ‘Look, we are done,’ I mean, to God be the glory,” Wike added.
He stressed that his political moves are not a challenge to Tinubu’s authority.
“Mr. President knows what I do. He knows what I do. Not just for election,” he said.
On why he remains in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, while backing an APC president, Wike said there is no contradiction.
“The presidential candidate is my friend, and he came to me, and I told him that, look, there’s nothing wrong with you running,” he said.
According to him, the Rainbow Coalition is designed to support Tinubu at the presidential level while allowing parties and members to pursue their interests in governorship, National Assembly, and state assembly contests.
APC Governors Insist On Party Candidates
Reading the communique after their meeting, the Chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum, Governor Hope Uzodimma, said governors would not support any arrangement that creates “confusion, divided loyalty or competing interests.”
“The APC Governors Forum unanimously resolved that its members will not participate in, support or endorse any alliance or political arrangement capable of undermining the re-election of Mr. President, weakening the APC or adversely affecting any candidate of the party at all levels,” Uzodimma said.
“In other words, the forum has no intention to support any candidate at any level that is not an APC candidate because our candidates who are contesting the election are being sponsored by our party,” he added.
The governors also pledged to strengthen party unity, harmonize campaign structures from national to constituency levels, and align with the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope agenda.
