RismadarVoice Reporters
September 20, 2026
Political scientist and public affairs analyst, Prof. Odion Akhaine, has advised President Bola Tinubu to carefully manage the growing involvement of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in the affairs of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mr Akhaine, who spoke against the backdrop of political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections, said Mr Wike’s involvement in the proposed opposition “Rainbow Coalition” could create tension within the ruling party.
He said while Mr Wike had played a role in supporting a southern presidential candidate ahead of the 2023 election, his current political activities appeared to have gone beyond supporting Mr Tinubu’s re-election bid.
According to him, the minister should concentrate on mobilising support for the president in Rivers State and other areas where he has political influence rather than attempting to shape the internal affairs of the APC.
“For the politicians in our environment, public good is not sacred. Personal interest is sacred for them,” Mr Akhaine said.
He said Mr Wike’s decision to remain a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while actively engaging in the affairs of the APC raised questions about the nature of party politics in Nigeria.
Mr Akhaine acknowledged Mr Wike’s contribution to the emergence of a southern presidential candidate in 2023, noting that the former Rivers governor had opposed attempts by some southern politicians to support a candidate from another region.
However, he said Mr Wike appeared to be “overreaching himself” by becoming deeply involved in the politics of the ruling party.
“Even within the patrimonial politics that Nigerian politicians play, you would expect that he should confine himself to supporting the President and maintain his stronghold, which is Rivers State,” he said.
On the proposed Rainbow Coalition involving opposition politicians and parties, Mr Akhaine said APC governors were unlikely to allow outsiders to dictate the direction of the ruling party.
He argued that state governors remain important power brokers within the Nigerian political system because of their influence over party structures and electoral mobilisation in their respective states.
“We have to watch it very carefully because whatever you say about Nigerian politics, governors are the leaders of the party in their various states. And they have control over the electoral process,” he said.
He advised Mr Wike to focus on securing political support for President Tinubu in Rivers State and strengthening his political network in Abuja rather than attempting to influence APC’s internal decision-making.
“My advice to Wike is that, since he is supporting the President, his constituency is not Nigeria. His constituency, where he has allies, is Rivers State,” Mr Akhaine said.
“He should secure Rivers State for the President. He must have also built some structures in Abuja. He should use the goodwill to win the election for Mr President. For me, that should be his focus, and not to dictate the dynamics of APC internal politics.”
He also advised President Tinubu to handle the matter cautiously to prevent Mr Wike’s activities from creating divisions within the ruling party.
Reacting to concerns among some APC members that Mr Wike could undermine the party in the same manner critics accuse him of weakening the PDP, Mr Akhaine said party members were justified in resisting attempts by an outsider to influence their internal affairs.
“It is very clear that a person who is not a member of your party, no matter what you say, it is wrong to allow an outsider to dictate the content and processes of the party,” he said.
According to him, Mr Wike cannot impose his personal political agenda on APC members and leaders.
He described the situation as a reflection of the weaknesses of Nigeria’s political parties, arguing that many of them are organised primarily around the pursuit of political power rather than ideology.
Mr Akhaine said politicians frequently abandon existing parties and establish new political platforms when such platforms no longer serve their interests.
“I have argued in my book, Political Power in Nigeria, that we don’t have political parties in Nigeria. What we have are special-purpose vehicles that people use to pursue the goal of power,” he said.
He added that the absence of strong ideological foundations had made it difficult to hold politicians to consistent political positions.
“You can’t tie them to a particular ideological orientation. You cannot even talk about pragmatism. The compass for them is self-interest,” he said.
Asked how the problem could be addressed, Mr Akhaine said Nigeria needed to strengthen political organisations and develop parties based on clear ideological programmes.
He cited Ghanaian independence leader Kwame Nkrumah’s emphasis on organisation, arguing that sustained political development could not be achieved through individual ambitions alone.
“Society is not built based on intentions, goodwill or wishes. You must work within the collective to achieve the goal of the society,” he said.
He urged a new generation of Nigerians to learn from established political movements such as the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, which was founded in 1912.
According to him, Nigerian political parties should develop clear programmes centred on public welfare rather than the personal ambitions of politicians.
He also called for stronger institutions and legal mechanisms to discourage politicians from moving freely between political parties.
Mr Akhaine noted that the National Assembly had previously considered measures aimed at requiring lawmakers who defect from the parties on whose platforms they were elected to relinquish their seats.
He said the judiciary must also be sufficiently independent to interpret and enforce the law without political pressure.
“The failure of institutions to be firm is the reason people jump from one party to the other,” he said.
Wike not first politician to cross political lines
On whether Mr Wike’s relationship with the APC should become a model for political alliances, Mr Akhaine said alliances were not inherently problematic.
He said political alliances could be beneficial when they were built around shared programmes and policy objectives.
“Party validation is actually built on alliance. Alliance is fostered by similarity of programmes. Now, the Nigerian contradiction is that alliance is not built on programmes. It is built on personal interest,” he said.
He cited the case of the late Bola Ige, who served as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice under former President Olusegun Obasanjo despite belonging to a different political tradition.
According to him, Mr Ige’s participation in the Obasanjo administration was part of a broader political arrangement rather than evidence of a programme-based alliance.
He argued that political actors often enter alliances primarily for political survival or personal advantage.
“Associating with the ruling party is pursuit of self-interest. It is survival within the political environment,” he said.
However, he maintained that while opportunism should not be encouraged, political alliances that advance genuine programmes should not be discouraged.
Mr Akhaine also expressed concern about what he described as the declining quality of Nigeria’s democracy.
He said political developments in recent years reflected what political scientists refer to as democratic “backsliding.”
He traced some of the problems to the return to civilian rule, recalling former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s description of politics as a “do-or-die affair.”
“The real tragedy is that Nigeria parades the worst elites any country can produce,” Mr Akhaine said.
He argued that political leaders needed to moderate inflammatory rhetoric and respect citizens’ right to choose their representatives.
He cited recent political tensions in states including Osun and Edo as examples of the broader challenges confronting Nigeria’s electoral democracy.
“If we must have free and fair elections, this trend should be moderated,” he said.
