The All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership in the South-East has aligned with the party’s Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), rejecting Nyesom Wike’s “Rainbow Coalition” and insisting that APC candidates should receive the party’s backing at every level of the 2027 elections.
The position was contained in a joint statement signed by APC National Vice-Chairman for the South-East, Dr Ijeomah Arodiogbu, and the party chairmen in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states.
The development follows the PGF’s recent declaration that its members would not participate in, support or endorse any political arrangement capable of weakening the APC or affecting its candidates in the forthcoming elections.
The governors’ position has been linked to the Rainbow Coalition associated with Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, who has said the platform is focused on mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election rather than backing APC candidates across other contests.
The South-East APC leaders criticised Wike’s recent remarks about members of the PGF, describing them as “most unfortunate, reprehensible and completely unacceptable”.
They said the governors had secured more than 25 per cent of the presidential vote in their respective states during the 2023 election and had records that, in their view, demonstrated their political standing.
“Progressive Governors are not abstract politicians; they are performing leaders whose records speak for themselves,” the statement said.
The party officials also said the governors were independently elected leaders and should be treated with respect, while faulting what they characterised as attempts to interfere with their political fortunes ahead of 2027.
The South-East caucus further objected to the emergence of parallel political structures outside the APC’s established framework.
The disagreement comes as Wike’s coalition has attracted political attention beyond Rivers State. The minister has maintained that its objective is to mobilise support for Tinubu, while APC governors have drawn a distinction between backing the President and supporting arrangements that could affect the party’s candidates in other elections.
The South-East leaders said the APC’s candidates should receive coordinated support from the presidential contest down to the state Houses of Assembly.
“We in the South-East stand solidly with all Progressive Governors and candidates of our party at all levels in the forthcoming 2027 elections,” they said.
They also called on Wike to withdraw his criticisms of the governors and return to what they described as “party discipline, mutual respect and collective responsibility”.
The latest position has added a regional dimension to the disagreement between Wike and APC governors, which has intensified since the PGF formally distanced itself from political arrangements it considers capable of affecting the party’s candidates.
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