The APC Grassroots Governance Organisation has warned the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, against what it described as attempts to create division within the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The group also defended the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, amid the escalating disagreement between Wike and APC governors over the minister’s proposed Rainbow Coalition.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the organisation commended Mr Uzodimma and the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, for what it described as their leadership and commitment to the APC.
The group said Mr Uzodimma had remained committed to protecting the interests of President Bola Tinubu, the APC and its candidates.
It also accused Wike of attempting to isolate Mr Uzodimma and portray him as being in conflict with the party.
“We have sadly noted that what the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has attempted in recent days is clear: to isolate Governor Uzodimma, Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, and set him against the party,” the statement said.
“Governor Uzodimma has done nothing to warrant this personal campaign. We thank him for refusing to descend to that level. The party is bigger than any individual quarrel.”
The development comes amid a growing disagreement between Wike and APC governors over the Rainbow Coalition, which the minister has said is intended to mobilise support for President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The Progressive Governors Forum recently resolved that APC governors would not support any political arrangement capable of undermining the party or its candidates.
Mr Uzodimma, who announced the position after a meeting of APC governors in Abuja, said the governors’ campaign commitment would remain with the President and candidates sponsored by the APC.
Wike, however, rejected the governors’ interpretation of his political activities.
The minister said he had never approached the Progressive Governors Forum seeking an alliance and insisted that his support was specifically for President Tinubu’s re-election.
In a recent interview with ARISE NEWS, Wike said the Rainbow Coalition was not an attempt to work with APC governors or take over the party’s structures.
“There is no day I went to the Governors’ Forum to align with any rainbow coalition,” he said, according to ARISE NEWS.
“I have never sat with the APC Progressive Governors’ Forum.”
Wike has also argued that supporting Tinubu for president does not require him to support APC candidates in governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives and state assembly elections.
His position has deepened the disagreement with APC governors, who contend that supporting the President while backing candidates on other political platforms could create competing interests during the 2027 elections.
But the APC Grassroots Governance Organisation said the distinction was unacceptable.
According to the group, the Rainbow Coalition was neither an organ of the APC nor an official campaign structure of the ruling party.
“We reiterate that the Rainbow Coalition is not the APC. It is not an APC organ. It is not an APC campaign structure. It does not speak for APC governors, APC candidates, or APC members,” it said.
