Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has launched another attack on Imo State Governor and Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governors’ Forum, Hope Uzodimma, saying the governor is “lucky” he is not a member of the ruling party.
Wike made the remarks during an interview with Arise News anchor Charles Aniagolu while responding to the APC governors’ rejection of his proposed Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The disagreement centres on Wike’s continued support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election while maintaining that such support does not require him to join the APC or prevent other political parties from fielding candidates.
Wike said he had supported Tinubu since the 2023 presidential election and had never told the president that he would join the APC.
He specifically criticised Uzodimma’s position on the emerging political alignment.
“I said I will support the President from day one. I never told Mr President I will join APC,” Wike said, according to reports of the interview.
He then accused Uzodimma of going too far in his criticism of the Rainbow Coalition, saying the Imo governor was fortunate that Wike was not an APC member because he would not tolerate what he described as “rubbish.”
The comments came after the APC Governors’ Forum declared that its members would support APC candidates at all levels and would not endorse political arrangements capable of weakening the party or President Tinubu’s re-election campaign.
Wike, however, has maintained that his political arrangement is separate from the APC and is focused on mobilising support for Tinubu’s presidential bid.
The FCT minister has also argued that supporting a presidential candidate does not necessarily mean voters or political actors must support the same party’s candidates in legislative and state-level elections.
His latest remarks further expose the growing disagreement between Wike and sections of the APC leadership over the structure and political implications of the Rainbow Coalition ahead of 2027.