The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has clarified that the “Rainbow Coalition” he is promoting ahead of the 2027 general elections is not an arrangement with the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Wike said the coalition was conceived as a multi-party platform to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election, stressing that members of different political parties could participate in the initiative.
The former Rivers State governor made the clarification in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, following concerns raised by APC governors over political alliances outside the party’s formal structures.
According to Wike, his decision to support Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election does not mean that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will abandon its participation in other elections. He said he never promised that the PDP would not field candidates for governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.
Wike said the Rainbow Coalition was not established to help politicians secure electoral victories in their respective states, arguing that political disputes and contests at the state level should be handled locally.
“Politics is local and those having problems in their states should resolve them instead of using the re-election of the President to whip up sentiments,” he said.
He also recalled that he and other members of the G5 supported Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election without first meeting with APC governors, using the development to argue that voters could support different political parties at presidential and legislative levels during the same election.
Wike maintained that his immediate political focus is mobilising support for Tinubu’s re-election, while political parties remain free to contest other positions. The clarification comes amid an emerging disagreement between the minister and APC governors over the role of the Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.