A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aliyu Farouk, has said President Bola Tinubu is unlikely to be pleased with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over his recent criticism of governors elected on the platform of the ruling party.
Farouk made the statement while appearing on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Thursday, where he reacted to the growing disagreement between Wike and the APC Governors’ Forum ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Wike had described some APC governors as “politically lazy” while defending his Rainbow Coalition, a political arrangement he said was designed to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The minister’s comments followed the rejection by the APC Governors’ Forum, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, of any political alliance that could weaken the APC or undermine Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Speaking on the development, Farouk said the APC was working towards establishing a unified campaign structure at both the national and state levels. According to him, APC governors would be responsible for coordinating the party’s campaign activities in their respective states.
He said although Wike could not be prevented from expressing his political views, the APC was unhappy with the manner in which he had criticised its governors.
“As far as we are concerned, we want a unified APC campaign structure, which is exactly what we are setting up at the national level and across the states as well, and the governors are going to be in charge of the states.”
Farouk added that the party did not want a situation where its members or supporters would be encouraged to vote for different parties at different levels of the election.
He said the APC “resented” Wike’s description of its governors and suggested that Tinubu would equally be unhappy with the remarks.
“We are not happy with the way he called our governors, and I’m sure Mr President will not be happy either,” Farouk said.
The APC chieftain also questioned Wike’s claim that he had discussed his political activities with Tinubu or reached an arrangement with the president ahead of the 2027 elections.
Farouk said APC members were not aware of any such arrangement, stressing that whatever discussions Wike may have had with Tinubu did not necessarily represent the position of the party.
“And if he said he had meetings or an arrangement with Mr President, well, we in the APC are not privy to that. I’m sure he’s not privy to what we are also discussing with Mr President,” he said.
Despite the disagreement, Farouk appealed to APC members not to engage Wike in public exchanges over the matter.
“I call on my party members not to join issues with them,” he said.
Wike has consistently maintained that his Rainbow Coalition is focused on supporting Tinubu at the presidential level in 2027, while allowing opposition parties to field candidates against APC candidates in governorship and legislative elections.
The disagreement has therefore exposed differing positions over how support for Tinubu’s presidential bid should operate alongside contests involving APC candidates at the state and legislative levels.
With the 2027 elections approaching, the competing positions have raised questions about the relationship between Wike’s Rainbow Coalition and the APC’s proposed unified campaign structure, particularly over the role of APC governors in the party’s electoral strategy.
