2027 ELECTIONS: Wike Vs APC Governors’ Feud Splits 31 Governors Into Camps
The lingering dispute between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, and a section of All Progressives Congress, APC, governors has reportedly divided the party’s 31 state governors into opposing camps ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Geographic Reference
While some governors are said to be sympathetic to Wike, others have aligned with the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, PGF, and Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, as well as his Kwara State counterpart and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
A senior party source said not all APC governors were against Wike, noting that some had maintained their relationship with the former Rivers State governor.
“I can tell you that not all the governors are opposed to the minister. Many of them were his friends before now. The minister was a governor too. Even if everyone turns against him, you know that he has the Adamawa governor and some others with him,” the source said.
Campaigns & Elections
Findings indicate that Adamawa State governor, Ahmadu Fintiri; Akwa Ibom State governor, Umo Eno; Edo State governor, Monday Okpebholo; Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; and Kogi State governor, Ahmed Ododo, are reportedly sympathetic to Wike’s position.
On the other side are Uzodimma, AbdulRazaq, Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani; Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun; and a few other governors who are said to be firmly opposed to the minister.
However, some governors have reportedly chosen to remain on the fence, preferring to wait for President Bola Tinubu to return to the country before taking a definitive position.
The disagreement, which has been building within the ruling party for months, recently became more public, placing Wike at odds with a bloc of APC governors and raising questions about how the President intends to manage the competing interests within his political camp ahead of 2027.
Politics
The PGF, at a closed-door meeting in Abuja presided over by Uzodimma, reportedly resolved that the APC would support only candidates officially nominated by the party for the 2027 elections. The position was viewed as a rejection of candidates emerging from an outside coalition, an apparent reference to Wike’s Rainbow Coalition project.
The governors reportedly argued that because the Rainbow Coalition had fielded and supported candidates for National Assembly and other positions on rival party platforms, voters could become confused on election day, potentially affecting President Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Campaigns & Elections
Wike, however, has rejected suggestions that the opposition to his coalition was motivated by fears that it could destabilise the APC.
According to him, Uzodimma and AbdulRazaq have other undisclosed reasons for opposing the coalition, including Uzodimma’s reported interest in becoming Senate President.
Wike has also criticised AbdulRazaq over the disagreement, accusing the Kwara governor of repeatedly blaming him for political developments in the state and questioning claims that he was sponsoring candidates in Kwara to take control of the state legislature.
With tensions increasing, some party leaders have appealed to both sides to exercise restraint.
Party sources said President Tinubu’s return to the country was being closely watched, as it could influence the position eventually taken by undecided governors and the way the APC leadership handles the dispute ahead of the 2027 elections.
Meanwhile, some anti-Wike elements were reportedly circulating a narrative on Tuesday that some aggrieved governors were considering an alliance with other opposition presidential candidates. The move, according to sources, was aimed at pressuring the President to take action against the minister.
Sources also told Vanguard that not all the governors had issues with Wike and his coalition, particularly because he is not sponsoring candidates in their respective states.
New strategy in place to checkmate Atiku, Obi — Wike
Meanwhile, Wike yesterday disclosed that a fresh political strategy had been adopted to counter former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, in the 2027 elections.
Wike spoke after inspecting projects at Road S1, Kaura District; Collector Road C2, Life Camp; Arterial Road N16, Gwarinpa; the IBB Golf Course; and the Gudu, Jereton Mariere Street, project by Apo Legislative Quarters.
He also clarified earlier comments he made about the 2023 presidential election, which have continued to generate reactions.
The FCT minister explained that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, G5 bloc, of which he was a member, had adopted a deliberate strategy during the 2023 election to deny Atiku votes in the South-South.
He said the group regarded Atiku, rather than Obi, as the major threat to its political interests at the time.
“Our strategy was, make sure that you vote for Obi to win in order to deny Atiku the votes,” he said.
Wike explained that the South-South had traditionally been a PDP stronghold and argued that Atiku would have won had the region voted strictly along party lines.
He rejected claims that the strategy amounted to manipulating the election result in Rivers State, insisting that no evidence was presented at the tribunal to establish that the Labour Party won the state.
“Did anybody tender any result from Rivers State that, ‘look, this is the result, we won’? Did anybody? It’s unfair. It’s unfortunate there’s nothing we can do,” he said.
According to Wike, every political group, including the G5, had its own strategy during the election.
“We have our strategy in this election, and whether you like it or not, it’s not for us to let the cat out of the bag,” he said.