The Minister for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has shot down any suggestion that the Rainbow Coalition formation would be detrimental to the ruling party, noting that the coalition is an effort by supporters of the president’s second-term bid.
Wike made this known at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, as he assured that there was no way that the coalition would divide the APC or disturb the APC governors. “There are different political affiliations but supporters of the president can come together to work,” he said.
The former governor of Rivers State, who is overseeing the coalition’s activities in Rivers and FCT, says that the coalition creates a chance for the APC members and Tinubu supporters from other parties to work towards a common electoral objective.
According to him, “the coalition allows for the political differences of the states, but allows different parties to work together in supporting the presidential agenda.”
“If you see the name, PBT/APC, it simply means that those who support the president but are not members of the party, together with the party, have made efforts to make this happen.”
The politician also mentioned political personalities who operate along cross-party lines such as the governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, who showed how political actors could operate within different local contexts in support of the president.
The senator also disagreed with the claim that the coalition had led to disagreement among APC governors, asserting that he was not aware of any such issue.
“I don’t know what the issues are. But as far as I am concerned, there is no issue at all,” he said.
He stressed that the APC would still be the party through which Tinubu would contest for re-election, noting that other supporters not in the APC could help with the campaign under the coalition.
Moreover, he referred to the peculiarities of the political situation in the FCT, where it was accepted by all stakeholders to back Tinubu and the APC in the National Assembly, but there were other political considerations that were applicable in other cases depending on local conditions.
According to Wike, political cooperation in Nigeria was not something new, but the existing partnership gained prominence due to the changing political situation in the country.
He claimed that it was necessary to reach out to other political groups to gain their support and not rely only on party members in order to mobilise people around a presidential candidate.
The minister emphasised that the main goal of the coalition was to win Tinubu in the upcoming presidential elections for presidency. Besides, he advised Nigerians to consider the achievements of the current administration without taking into account political affiliation.
