The Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party platform backed by Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike, is attracting support from disaffected All Progressives Congress (APC) members in at least 10 states, according to a report by The Punch. Senior party figures who lost out in their party's nomination processes have either defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or openly endorsed the coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.
Coalition as a Safety Valve for Disgruntled APC Members
A national leader of the APC, speaking anonymously to The Punch, described the coalition as a safety valve for members who would otherwise leave for the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The source said Wike's arrangement effectively keeps disgruntled members within a structure still aligned with President Bola Tinubu's re-election bid.
"Wike has the support of the President on his Rainbow Coalition. It is an alternative platform for aggrieved APC members who may want to join the ADC. So, instead of joining the ADC, they move to the PDP where they will be given a ticket or recognition with assurance from them that they will work for Tinubu," the source said.
A second APC official, also speaking anonymously, said the party's primary concern remained securing Tinubu's victory, and that responsibility for managing fallout from disputed primaries lay with governors who conducted them.
APC Defections Spread Across States
From Kwara to Gombe, Cross River, Osun, Katsina, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Ogun, Jigawa, and Ondo, prominent APC figures who lost out in their party's nomination processes have crossed to the PDP. In Kwara, Senator Saliu Mustapha, two state assembly members, and Tajudeen Olesin of The Otoge Progressives have all joined Wike's camp. Senator Olubuyi Fadeyi of Osun Central picked up a PDP ticket after losing his APC return bid.
In Katsina, House of Representatives members Shehu Tafoki and Shehu Dalhatu also dumped the APC. Former Communications Minister Isa Pantami and ex-Gombe South senator Anthony Yaro are among other notable figures who have reportedly made the switch.
Olesin argued that the governors' resistance to the coalition was self-serving. He claimed that Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, who chairs the Progressive Governors Forum, was personally opposed to Wike because the minister had declined to back his reported ambition to become Senate President in 2027, favouring instead the return of the incumbent Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Wike's 2031 Ambition Claim Sparks Dispute
Mashood Alaka, Special Adviser on Party Affairs to Kwara Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq, dismissed the coalition as a calculated effort to position Wike for the 2031 presidential race, arguing that backing Tinubu while fielding PDP candidates for the National Assembly was contradictory and potentially harmful to the presidency.
Wike's spokesman, Lere Olayinka, rejected the 2031 ambition claim, saying power rotation arrangements meant the presidency would return to the North after 2031 if Tinubu completed two terms, making a southern candidate untenable. He also said speculation about the composition of the National Assembly was premature ahead of any election.
Calls and messages to Governor Uzodinma's aides went unanswered.
The 10 states where prominent aggrieved APC figures have moved towards Wike's Rainbow Coalition/PDP platform are: Kwara, Gombe, Cross River, Osun, Katsina, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Ogun, Jigawa, and Ondo.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Wike said his mission ahead of the 2027 elections is to ensure that opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi, remain politically unsettled and under pressure. The FCT minister insisted there is currently no credible, organised opposition in Nigeria, saying internal divisions within the PDP had left the political landscape without a clear frontrunner to challenge President Tinubu.
