2027: Tinubu May Mediate Wike-APC Governors Rift In France

2027: Tinubu May Mediate Wike-APC Governors Rift In France

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu may intervene in the growing disagreement between Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections.

A senior presidential aide was quoted as saying that Tinubu could meet the concerned political actors while in France, where the President is currently on vacation. The aide said the intervention was likely to take place abroad before the end of the week.

The reported meeting has not been officially confirmed, and no formal truce has been announced between Wike and the APC governors.

The disagreement centres on Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, which he has been promoting in support of Tinubu’s re-election while maintaining that the platform is separate from the APC.

Wike, who remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while serving as FCT minister, has said his support for Tinubu does not prevent the PDP from fielding candidates for governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.

Through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, Wike said he would mobilise support for Tinubu at the presidential level but had never promised that the PDP would withdraw from other electoral contests.

He has also maintained that he never approached the APC governors to join the Rainbow Coalition and that President Tinubu is aware of his political activities.

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Wike has cited the 2023 elections in states such as Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi to argue that voters can support different parties in presidential and state or legislative elections held on the same day.

The position has drawn opposition from the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF).

Its Chairman and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, said after a meeting of APC governors in Abuja that they would not support political arrangements capable of undermining the APC, Tinubu’s re-election or the party’s candidates.

APC leaders in the South-East have also rejected Wike’s Rainbow Coalition and criticised his comments about the Progressive Governors, urging party members to maintain support for APC candidates across the ballot.

The disagreement has attracted differing reactions within the ruling party.

Ima Niboro, a spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, described the situation as a disagreement among political actors who broadly support Tinubu’s re-election but differ over how that support should operate alongside other electoral contests.

Niboro urged Wike and the APC governors to end the public exchanges and concentrate on grassroots mobilisation.

Other APC figures have also taken different positions. Former House Minority Leader Farouk Adamu-Aliyu warned against any attempt to weaken the APC, while Kano politician Abdulmumin Jibrin urged APC governors not to embarrass Wike, arguing that the FCT minister remains relevant to Tinubu’s re-election effort.

The issue has consequently become a matter of political coordination within the wider camp backing Tinubu for 2027.

For Wike, supporting Tinubu at the presidential level can coexist with the PDP contesting other elections. The APC governors have instead stressed the need to protect the party’s candidates and structures.

The reported France intervention is therefore being viewed as a possible effort by Tinubu to manage the competing interests before they affect broader preparations for the 2027 elections.

However, the available report does not establish that a specific peace meeting between Tinubu, Wike and the APC governors has been scheduled in France. It only indicates that the President could intervene while abroad.

The outcome of any such intervention remains uncertain, while Wike continues to support Tinubu’s re-election and the APC governors maintain their position on party candidates.

2027: Tinubu May Mediate Wike-APC Governors Rift In France