A growing number of aggrieved members and former leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have begun aligning with the Rainbow Coalition associated with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in a development that has intensified political disagreements within the ruling party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to findings by Sunday PUNCH, APC figures who have either defected from the party or become dissatisfied with its internal processes are increasingly identifying with Wike’s cross-party political platform.
The development has generated competing positions within the APC, particularly over the relationship between the Rainbow Coalition, President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid and the interests of APC candidates contesting governorship and legislative elections in various states.
The Progressive Governors Forum, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, has opposed political arrangements it considers capable of weakening the APC or affecting the electoral prospects of its candidates. APC governors have also publicly distanced themselves from any formal alliance with Wike or other opposition figures.
Wike, however, has maintained that his political support is specifically for President Tinubu’s re-election and that the Rainbow Coalition is separate from the APC. In a statement issued through his media aide, Lere Olayinka, Wike said the coalition comprises members of different political parties who support Tinubu based on their assessment of his administration. He also clarified that he never promised that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would refrain from fielding candidates for other elective positions in 2027.
Against this backdrop, some APC members who lost party primaries or had disagreements with state party structures have moved towards Wike’s political camp.
Sunday PUNCH reported that such developments had occurred in at least 10 states, including Kwara, Gombe, Cross River, Osun, Katsina, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Ogun, Jigawa and Ondo.
In Kwara State, Dr Tajudeen Olesin and other members of the Otoge Progressives were among those reported to have backed the Rainbow Coalition. Olesin said he had left the APC after what he described as unfavourable treatment within the party and subsequently joined Wike’s camp.
He argued that the coalition should be understood as a platform through which politicians who support Tinubu but have disagreements with their state APC structures could pursue their political interests.
Olesin also questioned why some APC governors were opposed to Wike’s activities, arguing that politicians should be free to form alliances ahead of elections.
“I contested under APC and left the party to join Wike’s camp, and he welcomed me,” he said, according to Sunday PUNCH. He further said members of the coalition had agreed to support Tinubu for president while maintaining separate political positions in other contests.
Other political figures reported to have moved from the APC to the PDP in Kwara include Senator Saliu Mustapha and two members of the state House of Assembly, Saba Gideon and Olushola Odetundun.
In Osun State, Senator Olubuyi Fadeyi reportedly left the APC after failing to secure the party’s return ticket and subsequently picked a PDP ticket with support from Wike.
Two members of the House of Representatives, Shehu Tafoki and Shehu Dalhatu, were also reported to have defected from the APC to the PDP in Katsina State.
In Ondo State, former APC chieftain Idowu Mafimisebi and another aspirant, Matthew Oyerinmade, were reported to have left the party after losing out in the APC nomination process.
The movement of politicians between the APC and PDP has become one of the visible features of the emerging 2027 political realignment. However, the motivations attributed to individual politicians vary, with some citing disagreements over party primaries and internal management.
Within the APC, some leaders have argued that the Rainbow Coalition could provide a platform for dissatisfied party members while still allowing them to support Tinubu at the presidential level.
An APC national leader, who spoke to Sunday PUNCH on condition of anonymity, described the coalition as an alternative platform for aggrieved APC members who might otherwise have joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The source claimed that some politicians who were dissatisfied with their governors’ handling of party primaries had chosen to work with Wike because they believed they could retain political relevance while supporting Tinubu.
Another APC official similarly argued that the President’s re-election remained the principal concern for some party members who had become dissatisfied with their state-level structures.
According to the official, some politicians might support Tinubu for president while taking different positions in governorship or legislative contests.
The situation has nevertheless drawn criticism from some APC figures.
Mashood Alaka, Special Adviser on Party Affairs to Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, alleged that Wike’s coalition could be aimed at building a political network beyond the 2027 election.
Alaka suggested that Wike might be using his support for Tinubu to develop alliances that could become relevant in the 2031 political cycle. That interpretation, however, has been rejected by Wike’s camp.
Lere Olayinka, Wike’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, dismissed the suggestion that the minister was positioning himself for a 2031 presidential contest.
Olayinka argued that the debate over future presidential succession should be considered in the context of the traditional discussions around rotation of political power between the North and South.
He also rejected the argument that Wike’s support for Tinubu while remaining a PDP member was inherently contradictory. According to him, Wike’s position is that supporting Tinubu for president does not require the PDP to abandon its constitutional role of fielding candidates for other elective offices.
The disagreement has also brought the political interests of individual governors into focus.
Olesin attributed the confrontation between Wike and some APC governors to competing political interests, including possible ambitions beyond the 2027 elections. Those claims remain political assertions rather than established facts.
The APC governors, meanwhile, have maintained that their priority is protecting the party’s candidates and structures in their respective states.
The South-East APC leadership has also backed the Progressive Governors Forum and criticised Wike’s recent comments about the governors. In a joint statement, the South-East APC leaders said elected governors should be allowed to manage their political structures without outside interference.
The disagreement has become sufficiently prominent that reports indicate President Tinubu may intervene in an effort to reduce tensions between Wike and the APC governors. A senior presidential aide told PUNCH that such an intervention was being considered as the political disagreements continued to develop.
Wike’s political position remains unusual because he is a senior PDP figure serving as a minister in the APC-led Federal Government while openly supporting Tinubu’s 2027 presidential bid. He has maintained that the Rainbow Coalition is not an APC structure and that his support for the President does not prevent the PDP from participating in other elections.
As preparations for the 2027 elections intensify, the movement of dissatisfied politicians between parties and political platforms is likely to remain an important feature of the emerging political landscape.
For the APC, the immediate issue is how to manage disagreements arising from nominations, defections and competing political alliances while maintaining cohesion among its candidates and governors.
For Wike and his supporters, the Rainbow Coalition provides a vehicle for politicians from different parties to work together around a shared presidential objective.
The competing positions illustrate the complexity of Nigeria’s evolving 2027 political alignments, where support for a presidential candidate can coexist with different affiliations and interests at state and legislative levels.
This version keeps the defections, Wike’s stated position, APC governors’ objections and the competing 2031 interpretations clearly attributed rather than presenting disputed political motives as established facts.
