Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has launched a fresh attack on Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma and his Kwara State counterpart, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, over their opposition to his controversial Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.
Wike accused Uzodimma of using opposition to the coalition to advance his alleged ambition of becoming Senate President after leaving office as Imo governor.
He also took a swipe at AbdulRazaq, describing the Kwara governor as “timid” and accusing him of dragging Wike into his political battles in the state.
The FCT minister spoke on Monday night during TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout, where he explained what he described as the real reasons behind the resistance of some APC governors to his political activities.
Wike specifically questioned Uzodimma’s interest in the 2027 National Assembly elections, alleging that the Imo governor was seeking to influence the emergence of senators and members of the House of Representatives because of his ambition to become Senate President.
According to him, Uzodimma’s tenure as governor is approaching its end, making the Senate a possible next political destination for him.
Wike said the Imo governor was therefore using the APC governors’ structure to influence the composition of the next National Assembly.
He said, “This man’s office will expire in January 2028. Now, he wants to leave his office to run for Senate. I will never support a character of Hope Uzodimma to be Senate President of Nigeria.”
Wike further alleged that Uzodimma had been encouraging fellow governors to ensure that they controlled the emergence of National Assembly members without revealing his alleged personal interest in the process.
He also accused the Imo governor of creating political problems and resorting to blackmail when he was unable to resolve them.
The minister equally revived the controversy surrounding Uzodimma’s emergence as Imo governor, referring to the Supreme Court judgment that declared him the winner of the 2019 governorship election after the Independent National Electoral Commission’s initial declaration placed him fourth.
Turning to Kwara, Wike took an equally strong swipe at AbdulRazaq, who has been critical of his political activities.
The FCT minister described the Kwara governor as “very timid” and questioned why AbdulRazaq was dragging his name into the governor’s political battles with former Senate President Bukola Saraki and other Kwara politicians.
Wike said AbdulRazaq should fight his political battles himself instead of expecting him to intervene.
“I don’t carry anybody’s fight. You have a problem with Saraki? You go and fight with Saraki,” Wike said.
He also accused AbdulRazaq of running what he described as propaganda against him and questioned the governor’s decision to drop three sitting senators from his political calculations in Kwara.
Wike argued that the consequences of such decisions should be handled by the Kwara governor without dragging him into the dispute.
The clash comes against the backdrop of the growing controversy over Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, a political arrangement involving politicians across party lines that he says is primarily aimed at mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election.
Uzodimma, as chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, has maintained that APC governors would not support any political arrangement capable of weakening the party or affecting its candidates in next year’s elections.
But Wike insists that supporting Tinubu for president does not automatically mean supporting every APC candidate contesting the governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and state assembly elections.
He cited the 2023 elections to argue that voters could support a presidential candidate from one party and candidates from another party in National Assembly elections held on the same day.
The minister also rejected allegations that Tinubu had agreed to concede nine states to his political allies through the Rainbow Coalition.
He challenged those making the allegation to identify the states allegedly covered by such an agreement.
Wike maintained that his political activities were not being carried out behind Tinubu’s back, insisting that the President was aware of what he was doing.
He also accused his critics of using propaganda to portray his Rainbow Coalition as a threat to Tinubu’s re-election.
The widening dispute has now placed Wike and some of the APC governors on opposing sides of a major political argument over control of the 2027 elections and the next National Assembly.
With Wike openly accusing Uzodimma of pursuing the Senate presidency and describing AbdulRazaq as timid, the dispute over the Rainbow Coalition has moved beyond a disagreement over party loyalty into a more personal political confrontation.
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