President Bola Tinubu is expected to intervene in the growing political disagreement between Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), amid rising tensions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Tinubu is currently in France, and a senior presidential aide familiar with the development said the President could meet with the affected parties abroad before the end of the week in an effort to resolve the dispute.
The aide, who spoke privately because he was not authorised to comment publicly on the planned engagement, said Tinubu was expected to intervene directly and broker a truce between Wike and the APC governors.
The reported intervention comes against the backdrop of a fresh disagreement over Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party political initiative that has been promoted as a vehicle for mobilising support for Tinubu’s 2027 presidential bid.
Wike, APC Governors Clash Over Rainbow Coalition
Wike remains a prominent figure in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) despite serving as FCT Minister in Tinubu’s APC-led Federal Government.
The former Rivers State governor has openly supported Tinubu’s re-election bid but has maintained that his support for the President does not mean he has joined the APC or that he must support the party’s candidates in other elections.
That position has brought him into conflict with several APC governors, who insist that the party’s structure and candidates should remain central to the 2027 election campaign.
The Progressive Governors Forum, chaired by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, recently said its members would not support any political alliance or arrangement capable of weakening the APC or undermining the party’s candidates.
Uzodimma made the position known after a meeting of APC governors in Abuja, saying the governors’ campaign commitment would remain focused on APC candidates at all levels.
The governors’ position has been widely linked to concerns surrounding Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, which has reportedly expanded beyond Rivers State.
Wike, however, has defended the coalition, arguing that supporting Tinubu for president is separate from supporting APC candidates in governorship, senatorial and other elections.
He has also accused Uzodimma and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of being behind efforts to frustrate his political activities. Wike has maintained that President Tinubu is aware of the coalition and his political activities.
Tinubu Expected to Broker Truce
The presidential aide said the disagreement had reached a point where Tinubu was expected to step in to prevent the various political interests from working at cross-purposes.
According to the aide, the President’s intervention would focus on resolving the differences between Wike and the governors while ensuring that the various political actors remain aligned ahead of the 2027 election.
The aide said the meeting could take place outside Nigeria before the end of the week.
The reported intervention follows calls from within the APC for Tinubu to personally address the disagreement.
The APC Presidential Campaign Council has also urged the President to intervene, describing the dispute as an internal matter that should be resolved within the political family.
APC Leaders Criticise Wike
The dispute has generated different reactions within the APC, with some party members criticising Wike’s political activities while others have defended his support for Tinubu.
Former House Minority Leader Farouk Adamu-Aliyu criticised Wike during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, arguing that the minister should not use his relationship with Tinubu to influence the internal affairs of the APC.
Adamu-Aliyu acknowledged Wike’s role in the political developments surrounding the 2023 presidential election but maintained that Wike remains a PDP member and therefore should not determine how the APC conducts its affairs.
He also argued that the party could recognise Wike’s support for Tinubu without allowing a parallel political structure to emerge within the APC.
Wike Gets Support From Some APC Figures
Despite the criticism, some APC figures have defended Wike’s political contribution to Tinubu’s 2027 campaign.
House of Representatives member Abdulmumin Jibrin recently described Wike as an asset to the ruling party, despite his continued membership of the PDP.
Jibrin said Wike had made political sacrifices through his support for Tinubu, highlighting the differing views within the APC over the minister’s role in the emerging political arrangement.
South-East APC Backs Governors
The disagreement has also attracted reactions from APC leaders in the South-East.
The APC South-East caucus recently backed Uzodimma and other party governors while calling on Wike to apologise over comments directed at the governors.
The statement was signed by APC National Vice Chairman, South-East, Ijeomah Arodiogbu, alongside the party chairmen in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states.
The South-East APC leaders rejected Wike’s criticisms and reaffirmed their support for the party’s governors and candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
What the Wike-APC Governors Dispute Means for 2027
The disagreement highlights a broader tension over how support for Tinubu’s presidential campaign should relate to the APC’s candidates at state and legislative levels.
While Wike has continued to maintain that his support for Tinubu is distinct from his support for APC candidates in other contests, the Progressive Governors Forum has said its campaign structure will remain focused exclusively on APC candidates.
With the disagreement now attracting reactions from APC leaders, governors and other political stakeholders, attention is turning to Tinubu’s reported intervention and whether the competing political interests can reach an understanding ahead of the 2027 elections.
For now, the proposed meeting remains a reported plan rather than a publicly confirmed presidential engagement.