A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and federal lawmaker, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has urged APC governors to avoid escalating their disagreement with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, arguing that the former Rivers State governor remains politically important to President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
Jibrin made the remarks during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday night, shortly after the APC Governors Forum rejected political alliances it believes could weaken the ruling party or undermine its candidates in the 2027 elections.
The position of the Progressive Governors Forum, chaired by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, has been linked to concerns surrounding Wike’s “Rainbow Coalition,” a cross-party platform through which the FCT minister says he is mobilising support for Tinubu’s second-term bid.
While the APC governors have expressed concerns about arrangements that could affect the party’s candidates at the state and legislative levels, Jibrin urged them to engage Wike through dialogue rather than public criticism.
According to him, the party should distinguish between Wike’s continued membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his stated support for Tinubu at the presidential level.
“There is no APC member in Nigeria today that has not directly or indirectly benefited from the efforts of Wike,” Jibrin said, adding that Wike’s contribution should not be discounted because he has not formally joined the APC.
“Wike is an asset to the APC. I don’t think Wike should be embarrassed at this moment with public statements,” he said.
Jibrin Cites Wike’s Political Contributions
Jibrin pointed to Wike’s political influence in Rivers State and the FCT as part of the reasons he believes the minister should be treated as an ally.
He claimed that Wike had made political sacrifices that benefited the APC, including what he described as handing Rivers State over to the ruling party and asking his candidates in the FCT election to step down in favour of APC candidates.
“Wike has sacrificed, he handed over Rivers to APC, Wike had candidates in the FCT election but asked them to step down for APC,” Jibrin said.
He also noted that Wike joined the Tinubu administration under the arrangement described as a government of national unity, arguing that the minister had contributed more to the administration and the ruling party than his formal party affiliation might suggest.
Jibrin stressed that his intervention was not based on a close personal relationship with Wike, saying he had only met the FCT minister twice.
“As I talk to you, before God whom I worship, I don’t know Wike but he knows me from afar and I know him from afar,” he said.
Concern Over Tinubu’s 2027 Campaign
The lawmaker said his main concern was the potential effect of the disagreement on the broader political effort to secure Tinubu’s second term.
“I’m not holding any brief for Wike, but I think anything that is going to touch on the stability of the journey towards delivering the President I like to make my intervention,” he said.
Jibrin also argued that support for Tinubu from politicians outside the APC should not automatically be interpreted as an attempt to weaken the ruling party.
He said politicians belonging to opposition parties, including the NDC and ADC, were also supporting Tinubu in different ways.
“There are people who are in other parties, who are working with us in the NDC, in the ADC,” he said, adding that some of them had contacted him over the controversy involving Wike.
Call for Dialogue With APC Governors
Jibrin consequently appealed to APC governors to regard Wike as a political ally rather than an opponent.
“For the governors, they should take Wike as part of them,” he said.
He suggested that governors who believe Wike’s activities at the subnational level could affect their political interests should engage him directly instead of publicly criticising him.
“If there is a problem at the state level, the entire coalition that he is doing is for the President, if anybody at the subnational level feels it may work against him or his interest, they should discuss with Wike,” Jibrin said.
He maintained that public exchanges could deepen divisions within the broader political coalition supporting Tinubu.
Wike’s Rainbow Coalition Position
Wike’s political activities have generated debate because he remains a member of the PDP while serving as a minister in Tinubu’s administration and openly supporting the President’s 2027 re-election bid.
The FCT minister has maintained that his support for Tinubu at the presidential level does not mean the PDP should surrender its candidates or electoral contests at the governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly levels.
Wike has also described the Rainbow Coalition as a cross-party mobilisation platform for Tinubu rather than an APC structure.
He has rejected suggestions that he approached APC governors to join the coalition, maintaining that he did not seek such an arrangement with them.
Jibrin also referred to the February 2026 FCT Area Council elections as an indication of the APC’s political strength in the capital. The APC won five of the six chairmanship seats, while the PDP won Gwagwalada.
The latest intervention by Jibrin adds another dimension to the disagreement over Wike’s political role, with the lawmaker calling for dialogue between the minister and APC governors while emphasising the importance of maintaining cooperation among those supporting Tinubu’s 2027 presidential bid.
