RismadarVoice Reporters
September 18, 2026
President Bola Tinubu may intervene in the growing disagreement between Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike and governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress over political arrangements ahead of the 2027 general elections.
A senior presidential aide familiar with the matter said Tinubu was expected to engage both sides in an attempt to resolve their differences and prevent the dispute from disrupting their shared support for his re-election.
The aide, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorised to comment publicly, said the intervention was likely to take place abroad before the end of the week. Tinubu is currently on vacation in France.
The reported intervention follows days of exchanges over Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, a multi-party political platform the FCT minister says is designed to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election without requiring participating opposition politicians to support APC candidates in other contests.
APC GOVERNORS INSIST ON PARTY CANDIDATES
The Progressive Governors’ Forum, chaired by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, has said its members will not support any alliance or arrangement they believe could weaken the APC, undermine Tinubu’s re-election or adversely affect the party’s candidates.
The governors maintain that their campaign commitment extends to all APC candidates, not only the presidential ticket.
Wike has challenged that position, maintaining that his commitment is to mobilise support for Tinubu and that he never promised the PDP would not field governorship candidates, National Assembly and state assembly candidates.
The minister has also accused Uzodimma and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of opposing the coalition, allegations that form part of the increasingly public dispute.
PRESIDENCY SEEKS COMMON GROUND
According to the presidential aide, Tinubu’s expected intervention would seek to reconcile the competing political interests and encourage cooperation ahead of the elections.
“There will be an intervention to broker a truce and resolve whatever differences exist between them, ensuring that all parties work together ahead of the coming election,” the aide said.
The aide added that the intervention was likely to take place abroad before the end of the week.
Beyond the immediate dispute over the Rainbow Coalition, some APC figures have alleged that disagreements involving future political interests and candidates challenging APC governors are contributing to the tensions. Those claims remain the accounts of the party figures and have not been independently established.
For now, the central disagreement remains over whether political mobilisation for Tinubu can operate separately from support for APC candidates in other races — a distinction Wike defends, but the APC governors have rejected in their own campaign strategy.
