I don’t have a problem with Wike's rainbow coalition - Aiyedatiwa

Lucky Aiyedatiwa, governor of Ondo, says the state remains firmly with the All Progressives Congress (APC), while insisting that he has no issues with Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), or the rainbow coalition he is erecting.

Aiyedatiwa spoke on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on Monday while responding to questions about the cross-party coalition backing President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.

“In my state, it is APC all the way; that does not mean that I don’t have relationship with Wike. I don’t have any problem with Wike,” the governor said.

Aiyedatiwa said there is nothing wrong with the rainbow coalition, arguing that politics revolves around interests, relationships and alliances.

“Politics is about interests, relationships, alliances, if you like. So, rainbow coalition being led by His Excellency Honourable Minister Nyesom Wike, there is nothing wrong in having coalition or alliances; it’s all about interests, who wants to be part of that, you choose,” he said.

The governor likened the coalition to various support groups backing Tinubu’s re-election bid, saying there is nothing wrong with such a platform if its objective is to support the president.

“There is freedom of association of being a member of one group, coalition or another, just as we have a lot of support groups supporting the president,” he said.

“So, if rainbow coalition is also in form of a support group too for the president, what is wrong in that? Nothing.”

Aiyedatiwa, however, said his support for the APC in Ondo is not incompatible with his relationship with Wike or his view that political alliances were legitimate.

“In my state, it is APC all the way,” he stated.

Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said in January that his rainbow coalition represents a shift from conventional party politics towards a collective political movement focused on advancing the interests of the state.

However, the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) said it would not endorse any alliance or political arrangements that could undermine Tinubu’s re-election bid or the party’s candidates in the 2027 elections.