2027: Ondo APC Elders Reject Rainbow Coalition, Insist On Party’s Candidates

The PBAT Mandate Elders Forum in Ondo State has rejected the need for the proposed Rainbow Coalition arrangement associated with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, insisting that the All Progressives Congress (APC) can win all elective positions in the State without surrendering any of its candidates.
The position appears to differ from that of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who had earlier defended the coalition arrangement, saying there was nothing wrong with political alliances as long as they supported President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
Governor Aiyedatiwa, while appearing on a television programme last month, had said, “Politics is about interests, relationships, alliances… there is nothing wrong with having a coalition or alliances,” adding that there was nothing wrong if the arrangement was a support group for President Tinubu’s re-election.
However, Chairman of the PBAT Mandate Elders Forum in Ondo State, Hon. Demola Ijabiyi, said on Wednesday that although the elders welcomed cooperation with other political parties to secure President Tinubu’s victory, such an arrangement must not come at the expense of APC candidates in the State.
Addressing journalists after the forum’s meeting, Hon. Ijabiyi said the Rainbow Coalition might be necessary in some States but was not applicable to Ondo, where the APC controlled the State government and all local government councils.
He said, “We, the elders of APC, are saying that we don’t need it in all those States. That’s the bottom line. We don’t need it. We can win without coalition. There are other States we cannot win without coalition. Go ahead with it.”
The APC chieftain explained that the coalition was designed to bridge the electoral weaknesses of political parties through reciprocal support, but maintained that Ondo State APC had no constituency where it was incapable of winning elections.
He said the party had no reason to threaten its candidates or surrender constituencies to other political parties, particularly when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he described as its major political opponent, had weakened considerably.
“We have no cause for that. Others can support. We are not saying in other States, if there are circumstances permitted, why not? But we are saying it does not apply to us,” Hon. Ijabiyi added.
He also warned APC members supporting candidates of other political parties against engaging in what he described as anti-party activities, insisting that grievances arising from party primaries were not sufficient justification for such actions.
“Any APC member, whether aggrieved or not aggrieved, engaging in support for another party other than the party members of our party, I will put that on our candidate has committed an anti-party activity. There is no other way of seeing it,” he said.
Beyond the coalition controversy, Hon. Ijabiyi disclosed that the forum was targeting at least one million votes for President Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, identifying poor voter turnout as a major challenge despite the APC’s political strength in the State.