…As clash over Rainbow Coalition deepens
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared that he will not support Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Hope Uzodimma, for the position of Senate President after the 2027 general elections.
Wike made the declaration on Monday during a special appearance on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout, as his disagreement with Uzodimma and other All Progressives Congress (APC) governors over his proposed Rainbow Coalition continued to deepen.
The FCT Minister linked the governors’ opposition to his political initiative to what he described as efforts to influence the emergence of senators and members of the House of Representatives who would support their preferred candidates for leadership positions in the next National Assembly.
According to Wike, Uzodimma, whose tenure as Imo governor is due to end in January 2028, is seeking to return to the Senate and ultimately become Senate President.
“APC in their ongoing party primaries, the governors, in their own wisdom, believe that they should be able now to put senators or House of Reps members who they will dictate to who will become the next Senate President or the Speaker,” Wike said.
He specifically accused Uzodimma of pursuing the Senate presidency after leaving office.
“This man’s office will expire in January 2028. Now, he wants to leave his office to run for Senate. I will never support a character of Hope Uzodimma to be Senate President of Nigeria,” he said emphatically.
Wike further alleged that politicians who had lost out in the APC’s nomination process were turning to alternative platforms to contest the 2027 elections, potentially producing lawmakers who would not be under the control of the governors.
He argued that such lawmakers could alter the political calculations surrounding the leadership of the next National Assembly.
The comments came against the backdrop of an escalating disagreement between Wike and the APC Governors’ Forum over the Rainbow Coalition.
The PGF, chaired by Uzodimma, recently declared that its members would not participate in, support or endorse any alliance or political arrangement capable of undermining President Bola Tinubu’s re-election, weakening the APC or adversely affecting any of the party’s candidates in the 2027 elections.
Uzodimma announced the governors’ position after a meeting in Abuja, saying their commitment remained with the APC and its candidates at all levels.
Wike, however, has maintained that the Rainbow Coalition is not an attempt to undermine the APC.
He said its primary objective was to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election while allowing members of the coalition to support candidates of their choice in legislative and other elections.
The minister said his position was consistent with his own political activities, noting that he had been encouraging his supporters to vote for Tinubu despite remaining a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“It is me, who is telling my own people to vote for President Tinubu of the APC that should be talking about voters being confused on the day of election as to how to differentiate among the three ballot papers, not people in the APC,” Wike said.
Wike has previously rejected the suggestion that he approached APC governors to join his coalition, while insisting that President Tinubu was aware of his political activities.
The dispute has nevertheless widened, with Wike arguing that the governors’ opposition to the Rainbow Coalition goes beyond party loyalty and is connected to competing political interests ahead of the 2027 elections.
In his latest remarks, he suggested that the emergence of politicians who secured tickets outside the control of state governors could affect attempts to determine the leadership of the next National Assembly.
Uzodimma’s reported Senate ambition
Uzodimma, who has governed Imo State since January 2020, is reported to be seeking a return to the Senate after completing his tenure as governor.
He previously represented Imo West Senatorial District in the Senate between 2011 and 2019 before becoming governor.
His reported Senate ambition has acquired additional significance following changes to the Senate’s standing rules concerning eligibility for leadership positions.
The Senate amended its rules earlier this year to tighten the ranking and service requirements for senators seeking presiding and principal offices.
The reported changes have generated political discussion over the eligibility of politicians seeking to return to the chamber after previously serving as senators.
Reports have attributed some of the political calculations surrounding the amendments to concerns about prospective returnees seeking influential positions, including the Senate presidency. Such interpretations have been attributed to political sources and are not an official explanation of the Senate’s reasons for amending its rules.
The latest exchange between Wike and Uzodimma therefore brings together two separate but increasingly connected political disputes: the disagreement over Wike’s Rainbow Coalition and the emerging contest over the composition and leadership of the National Assembly after the 2027 elections.
For now, Wike has made his position on Uzodimma’s reported Senate presidency ambition unequivocal, while the APC governors, led by Uzodimma, have maintained that their political commitment ahead of 2027 is to the APC and its candidates.
