APC Chieftain Warns Wike Poses Risk to Tinubu’s 2027 Bid

A senior chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Farouk Adamu Aliyu, has described Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike as a potential danger to President Bola Tinubu’s re-election prospects in 2027, accusing the minister of arrogance and cautioning that power and life are transient.

Aliyu, a former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, made the remarks in interviews on Channels Television’s Politics Today and Arise News, reacting to the escalating public spat between Wike and the Progressive Governors’ Forum.

The tension erupted after the APC Governors’ Forum, chaired by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, held a closed-door meeting in Abuja and issued a firm rejection of Wike’s proposed Rainbow Coalition. The governors declared they would not support or engage in any political arrangement that is not wholeheartedly committed to all APC candidates at every level, warning that divided loyalty could undermine Tinubu’s re-election and weaken the party.

Wike, who remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while serving in the Tinubu administration, dismissed the governors’ stance. Appearing on Arise Television, he described some of them as “smart but lazy” (and in related remarks as “politically lazy” and “419ners”), insisting he never promised to work for APC candidates at the subnational level. His commitment, he stressed, is solely to Tinubu’s re-election; the PDP remains free to field its own candidates for governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections.

Aliyu rejected Wike’s language as being in bad taste and unacceptable. “We in APC reject this name calling by Wike, calling our governors ‘Lazy, 419,’” he said. “Wike cannot decide for us how we run our campaigns, and it is totally unacceptable for us [to accept] any coalition in such a way that [people] vote for Tinubu and another party.”

He acknowledged Wike’s past contributions, particularly the role the former Rivers governor played in weakening the PDP ahead of the 2023 elections, but insisted the APC would treat him as an opposition figure. “We appreciate everything Wike has done for us. In fact, anybody who is willing to destroy his party for us, we will welcome him. But we will not allow him to use our party to build his own party,” Aliyu stated.

ADVERTISEMENT

The APC chieftain further accused Wike of arrogance and warned that his confrontational approach could become a liability. “Arrogance is not good in politics… In some ways, Wike, by his position, poses a danger to Tinubu’s re-election,” he said, adding that those in authority must remember that power and life itself are transient and that a day of reckoning is coming, either in this life or the hereafter.

Aliyu also called on President Tinubu to personally intervene and speak to both Wike and APC leaders to prevent the dispute from becoming a distraction as the party prepares for 2027. He stressed that the APC wants a unified campaign structure under the control of its governors in the states, rather than parallel coalitions that could split votes.

The feud has already spread beyond Abuja, drawing reactions from APC structures in the South-East and other states that have backed the governors and rejected the Rainbow Coalition. Analysts note that while Wike’s influence in Rivers State remains significant, the public disagreement risks complicating mobilisation efforts and testing the delicate balance of loyalties within the ruling camp.

As the 2027 general elections approach, the episode underscores the challenges of managing cross-party alliances in a competitive political environment where support for the president does not automatically translate into backing for the ruling party’s full slate of candidates.