2027: Wike Blasts APC Governors as “Politically Lazy”, Says Tinubu Knows About Rainbow Coalition

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike has fired back at the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), describing governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as “smart” but “politically lazy”, while insisting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been fully briefed on the cross-party political coalition he is building ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking during an interview on Arise Television, Wike rejected suggestions that his emerging Rainbow Coalition was being formed behind the president’s back. According to him, every major political move he has made has been discussed directly with Tinubu, making the concerns raised by APC governors both unnecessary and uninformed.

“When I see the people who were at that press conference, they are smart… but they are politically lazy,” Wike said. “There has never been a day… Mr President knows. There is nothing that I have done that I have never told Mr President, ‘This is what I intend to do.’”

Wike’s remarks came just hours after the Progressive Governors Forum, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, publicly rejected any political alliance capable of weakening the APC or undermining President Tinubu’s re-election campaign in 2027. The governors declared that their loyalty remained with APC candidates at every level and warned against arrangements that could create divided political allegiance.

But Wike dismissed the forum’s position, arguing that the coalition he is building is not an APC structure and was never intended to take control of the ruling party. Rather, he said it is a broader movement designed to mobilize support for Tinubu across different political parties and interest groups. “The coalition is not an APC structure. I have never one day gone to the APC forum to form an alliance,” he said.

The minister drew a clear distinction between supporting President Tinubu’s re-election and endorsing every APC candidate in governorship or legislative contests. He argued that Nigeria’s electoral history shows voters regularly split their ballots, backing presidential candidates from one party while choosing governors and lawmakers from another.

Wike said his own decision to support Tinubu was rooted in his long-held belief that the presidency should remain in southern Nigeria after the eight-year administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. He added that he intends to support Tinubu’s second-term bid because he believes the president is committed to reforming the country.

“I said I was going to support the President… and I’m going to support him to finish his second term because I have seen that he is committed and dedicated to changing Nigeria,” Wike said.

In one of the interview’s strongest moments, Wike questioned the electoral influence of some APC governors, particularly those claiming they could guarantee Tinubu’s victory in 2027. He cited the 2023 presidential election in Imo State, where Tinubu finished behind the Labour Party despite the state being governed by the APC, while the ruling party still secured two Senate seats.

According to Wike, the result demonstrated that controlling a state government does not automatically translate into presidential votes. “As a sitting governor, you have a President running under your party, and you couldn’t give him 10 per cent of the total votes… Is he saying the people of Imo State were confused?” he asked.

He made a similar argument about Ebonyi State, noting that APC candidates won all three Senate seats even though Tinubu lost the presidential contest there—evidence, he said, that voters distinguish between different elections.

Wike also dismissed claims that his political relevance depends on remaining FCT Minister, insisting that the only person with the authority to challenge his actions is President Tinubu, not APC governors. “The only person that can question me today is the President. No other person,” he declared, adding that he has never sought financial support from Tinubu for his political activities.

The former Rivers State governor further alleged that some APC governors had opposed his appointment as FCT Minister from the outset and had previously encouraged political efforts to weaken him during his disputes with governors within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Wike remains one of Nigeria’s most influential and unconventional political actors. Although he is a senior PDP figure, he serves in an APC-led federal administration and was instrumental in the G5 governors’ support for Tinubu during the 2023 election. His latest comments reinforce the increasingly fluid alliances that are expected to shape the 2027 political contest.

As political realignments gather momentum, the dispute between Wike and the Progressive Governors Forum highlights a deeper struggle over influence within Nigeria’s ruling establishment. Beyond the rhetoric, the exchange signals that the race for 2027 has already shifted from speculation to active coalition-building, where state-level power, cross-party alliances and presidential loyalty may prove just as important as party labels.