Tinubu Moves to Resolve Wike’s Feud With APC Governors in France

President Bola Tinubu is preparing to step into the growing disagreement between Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.

Tinubu, who is currently in France, is expected to engage the affected parties as part of efforts to prevent the disagreement from affecting his re-election bid.

A senior presidential aide familiar with the development said the President is expected to intervene directly in the matter.

The aide spoke privately because he was not authorised to publicly discuss the planned engagement.

According to the aide, the meeting could take place outside Nigeria before the end of the week.

The development follows a fresh confrontation between Wike and the APC Governors’ Forum over the minister’s Rainbow Coalition.

Wike, a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party despite serving in Tinubu’s APC-led administration, has been mobilising political support for the President ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The minister has maintained that his support for Tinubu does not mean he has become an APC member or that he must support the party’s candidates in every other election.

That position has put him at odds with several APC governors who want the party’s structure and candidates to remain the centre of the 2027 campaign.

The APC Governors’ Forum, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, recently declared that its members would not support any political arrangement that could weaken the APC or affect the party’s candidates.

Uzodimma made the position known after a meeting of APC governors in Abuja.

Nyesom Wike; Hope Uzodimma

“The APC Governors Forum unanimously resolved that its members will not participate in, support or endorse any alliance or political arrangement capable of undermining the re-election of Mr President, weakening the APC or adversely affecting any candidate of the party at all levels.”

The declaration was widely viewed as a response to Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, which has been presented as a political platform to mobilise support for Tinubu while allowing politicians from different parties to pursue their own interests in other elections.

The dispute has become particularly tense because Wike has accused Uzodimma and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of being behind what he described as efforts to frustrate his political activities.

During a recent media engagement, Wike said the governors were uncomfortable with the spread of the coalition.

He also questioned the political strength of some APC governors and maintained that his support for Tinubu should not automatically translate into support for APC candidates in governorship, senatorial and other elections.

Wike later denied that he had approached the APC Governors’ Forum to form an alliance with them.

He said Tinubu was aware of the activities of the Rainbow Coalition and argued that supporting the President was a separate matter from supporting the APC in other elections.

The disagreement has therefore moved beyond a simple difference over campaign strategy.

The presidential aide stated, “You know, the President is the leader of the party and the father of the nation. The interesting aspect is that the governors and the minister are all working in the interest of the President and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“So, of course, President Tinubu will intervene in the face-off between the All Progressives Congress governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. There will be an intervention to broker a truce and resolve whatever differences exist between them, ensuring that all parties work together ahead of the coming election.

“The intervention is likely to take place abroad before the end of the week.”

The reported intervention comes after calls from within the APC for Tinubu to personally address the disagreement.

The APC Presidential Campaign Council has also urged the President to intervene in the dispute, describing the disagreement as one that should be resolved internally.

Meanwhile, former House Minority Leader Farouk Adamu-Aliyu has criticised Wike over his approach to the dispute.

Adamu-Aliyu, while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said the APC appreciated Wike’s role in weakening the PDP before the 2023 presidential election.

He, however, warned against allowing the minister to use his relationship with Tinubu to influence the internal affairs of the APC.

“We want to appease Nigerians. You don’t talk to people in such a way that they don’t vote for us again. So we don’t want anybody who will come and insult Nigerians,” he said.

The former lawmaker said the APC was aware of the economic difficulties facing Nigerians and was working to regain public confidence ahead of the next election.

He also criticised Wike over his comments about political leaders and voters.

“Despite the fact that we know there is a lot of hardship, we are trying to do better things that will make people believe in us. But just because you want to support the president, you insulted people anyhow and even insulted our leaders.”

Adamu-Aliyu further argued that Wike could not determine how the APC should conduct its affairs because he remains a member of the PDP.

“Look, Wike is not a member of our party. So we will treat him as a member of the opposition,” he said.

The former lawmaker acknowledged Wike’s contribution but said that relationship should not be used to create a parallel structure within the APC.

“We appreciate everything Wike has done for us. In fact, anybody who is willing to destroy his party for us, we will welcome him… However, we will not allow him to use our party to build his own party,” he added.

The disagreement has also attracted different reactions within the APC.

While some party members have criticised Wike’s political activities, others have defended the minister and argued that his support for Tinubu should be recognised.

A member of the House of Representatives, Abdulmumin Jibrin, recently described Wike as an asset to the ruling party despite his continued membership of the PDP.

Jibrin said Wike had made political sacrifices through his support for Tinubu.

The growing disagreement has also drawn reactions from APC members in the South-East.

The APC South-East caucus recently backed the governors and called on Wike to apologise over comments directed at the party’s governors.

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