• Says they’re more concerned about political survival •‘I don’t see any alternative to Tinubu’ •Denies deal to control nine states

From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye,Abuja

Ministerof the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has renewed his attack on some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors opposed to the Rainbow Coalition, accusing them of being more concerned about their political survival than President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

Wike, who had earlier described some of the governors as “politically lazy,” insisted that the cross-party coalition posed no threat to the APC but was designed to expand Tinubu’s support by bringing politicians from other parties behind his re-election bid.

Speaking on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout yesterday, Wike said politicians facing internal problems in their states should resolve them rather than portray the Rainbow Coalition as a threat to the ruling party.

He maintained that politicians could support Tinubu for President without defecting to the APC or abandoning candidates of their respective parties in governorship and legislative elections.

The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), chaired by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, had said APC governors would support Tinubu alongside candidates officially sponsored by the party and would resist arrangements capable of creating divided loyalties or weakening APC candidates.

But Wike said he had never approached the PGF for an alliance and was neither attempting to restructure nor weaken the APC.

“We told all our party members, all those like-minds who are not APC members, to please ensure that they support Mr President,” he said.

According to him, politicians displaced from existing party structures could seek alternative platforms to contest elections while continuing to support Tinubu.

“People who came to take refuge in a place that still support President, you are angry. If they are going to another party, ADC or NNPP, we leave the President,” he said.

Wike cited the 2023 elections, when voters in some states backed one party in the presidential election and another in legislative contests, as evidence that cross-party voting was not unusual.

He said the same principle applied to the Rainbow Coalition, insisting that members were free to support Tinubu while their parties fielded candidates for other elective offices.

Wike also declared that he saw no alternative to Tinubu ahead of 2027, saying opposition politicians had yet to present policies he considered better than those of the administration.

“I don’t see anybody who has brought a better alternative to whatever the President is doing today,” he said.

He said his support for Tinubu was based on his assessment of the President’s leadership and willingness to take difficult decisions, citing his position on state police and devolution of power.

“I can sell to Nigerian people: look at this type of president. See what he has said. See what I said,” Wike said.

He challenged opposition politicians seeking to unseat Tinubu to present clear policy alternatives rather than rely on rallies, crowd sizes and campaign promises.

Wike also questioned proposals to restore petrol subsidy, asking proponents to explain the legal and economic implications of such a policy.

He further dismissed claims that Tinubu had agreed to concede nine states to him as part of the Rainbow Coalition arrangement.

“Who are those states? Tell us that they said the President agreed with me that they are conceding my states,” Wike said.

“You see, we must let Nigerians know the truth. Tell them the truth. Which are my states? A, B, C? As I speak to you, you know Mr President. We are working with Mr President.”

Wike said Tinubu was aware of the Rainbow Coalition and maintained that its objective was to mobilise support for the President rather than secure political control of states for himself.

He also rejected suggestions that the coalition was driven by his personal political ambition, saying his immediate objective was Tinubu’s re-election.

The former Rivers State governor said his support for Tinubu predated his appointment as FCT minister and traced it to the position of the five aggrieved PDP governors, known as the G5, ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

“Our support for President is not that we want to benefit. Our support for President is that injustice—we have always preached that the North has had this for eight years and therefore that is the reason that you should go back to the South,” he said.

Wike also dismissed speculation that his current political activities were aimed at positioning him for the presidency in 2031.

“So, am I positioning myself… in which of the parties am I positioning myself to?” he asked.

On his political base, Wike said his influence should not be measured solely by formal party membership, claiming that serving and former National Assembly members, state lawmakers and local government political actors were aligned with him.

He maintained that the Rainbow Coalition was about mobilising those political structures for Tinubu in 2027, rather than weakening APC candidates or securing states for himself.