RismadarVoice Reporters
September 17, 2026
The All Progressives Congress leadership in the South-East has declared its support for the party’s Progressive Governors’ Forum and called for coordinated backing of APC candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The position was contained in a joint statement signed by APC National Vice Chairman for the South-East, Ijeomah Arodiogbu, and the party chairmen in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states.
The South-East party leaders said the position of the Progressive Governors’ Forum was important to maintaining the APC’s political structure and supporting its candidates at various levels of the 2027 elections.
Their statement followed recent disagreements between the APC governors and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over his proposed Rainbow Coalition.
The APC leaders criticised Wike’s remarks concerning members of the Progressive Governors’ Forum and said disagreements among political actors should not undermine the party’s elected officials or structures.
They argued that the governors had records of governance in their respective states and noted that several of them secured more than 25 per cent of the presidential vote in their states during the 2023 election.
The South-East APC leaders also expressed concern over what they described as efforts to influence the political fortunes of serving APC governors ahead of the 2027 polls.
They maintained that elected governors should be allowed to operate within the constitutional and political structures governing their offices and called for greater adherence to party discipline and internal consultation.
The leaders further rejected what they described as the “rainbow coalition” taking shape in the South-East, saying the APC would continue to defend its structures and candidates in the region.
They declared their support for APC candidates across the ballot, from the presidential election to the National Assembly, governorship and state House of Assembly contests.
The South-East APC position comes against the backdrop of Wike’s clarification that his Rainbow Coalition is not an APC platform.
Wike has said the coalition is a multi-party arrangement focused specifically on mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
He has also maintained that the coalition does not prevent other political parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party, from fielding candidates for governorship and legislative elections.
The minister said his support for Tinubu should not be interpreted as an agreement to support APC candidates in all other elections.
Meanwhile, the APC Governors’ Forum has maintained that its members will campaign for APC candidates at all levels and will not support political arrangements that could weaken the party or affect its candidates.
The disagreement has emerged as political parties and groups intensify preparations and alignments ahead of the 2027 general elections.