APC Govs, Wike Feud: Tinubu Needs Both Camps, Will Broker Truce on Return — Top Presidential Aide

• Rahman says governors will drive APC machinery, Wike coalition mobilise opposition votes for President

By Emmanuel Olugua
A senior aide to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has offered fresh insight into the confrontation between governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress and Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike over his Rainbow Coalition, arguing that the two political structures are pursuing the same ultimate objective — President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Special Duties, Tunde Rahman, said the increasingly public disagreement should not necessarily be interpreted as a crisis within the President’s political camp, but as a clash between two different mobilisation strategies.

Writing in an opinion article titled, “The Broom and the Rainbow: Two Platforms, One President,” Rahman said the APC governors and Wike are protecting different political interests even though both sides support Tinubu.

His intervention comes after the Progressive Governors Forum, chaired by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, declared that APC governors would support only candidates of their party and would not embrace any political arrangement capable of weakening APC candidates in the 2027 elections.

Wike, however, has insisted that his Rainbow Coalition is not an APC structure and is specifically designed to mobilise members of the PDP and other political parties for Tinubu’s re-election. He has also made clear that his support for the President does not mean the PDP will abandon its candidates in governorship and legislative elections.

Rahman said the positions were not necessarily irreconcilable.

According to him, APC governors have a responsibility to protect the entire party ticket in their states, from the presidential election down to governorship and legislative contests, and are understandably concerned that a coalition supporting Tinubu while fielding candidates against other APC flagbearers could create competing political interests.

Wike, on the other hand, is seeking to extend Tinubu’s support beyond the formal structures of the ruling party, Rahman argued.

He described the two platforms as “two legs of one body,” with APC governors representing the President’s official party machinery while Wike’s coalition seeks votes among opposition supporters and in areas where the APC may have less political reach.

“The APC Governors are the first leg, the official party structure,” Rahman wrote, while describing Wike’s Rainbow Coalition as an “extra-party structure” intended to mobilise votes from outside the APC.

Rahman maintained that Tinubu does not have to choose between the two camps, arguing that both could potentially contribute to his re-election effort while pursuing their separate interests in other elections.

The presidential aide also cited Wike’s political organisation and his role in the 2023 election as reasons he remains an important figure in Tinubu’s emerging 2027 political calculations.

According to Rahman, those expecting the disagreement to develop into a major rupture around the President may be disappointed.

He disclosed that Tinubu, currently on vacation in France, is expected to personally intervene in the disagreement when he returns.

“The President is on vacation in France and is expected to broker a truce himself when he returns, because he is the only leader both sides listen to,” Rahman wrote.

He said the emerging arrangement could ultimately see APC governors driving the ruling party’s formal campaign while Wike concentrates on mobilising non-APC voters willing to support Tinubu.

“This is not a house divided,” Rahman argued. “It is a big tent that allows mutual accommodation.”

Rahman said that despite their differences over other candidates and control of political structures, the Progressive Governors Forum and Wike’s Rainbow Coalition remain united on one central issue — support for Tinubu’s second-term bid.