Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Hope Uzodimma, has reacted to the statement by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, that he would not support his reported ambition to become President of the Senate.
Wike had made the statement on Monday during an appearance on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout.
He spoke about the growing disagreement between him and some governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over his proposed Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The minister specifically mentioned Uzodimma while discussing what he described as political calculations surrounding the emergence of the next leadership of the National Assembly.
But when contacted for his reaction, Uzodimma chose not to engage Wike over the matter.
The governor, speaking through his Commissioner for Information, Strategy and Public Orientation, Declan Emelumba, said he would not respond to the FCT minister’s remarks.
Emelumba said the governor did not want “to react to the comment as credited to Wike for obvious reasons.”
The response came shortly after Wike publicly ruled out supporting Uzodimma for the Senate presidency, adding another dimension to the disagreement between the two politicians.
Wike alleged that some APC governors were opposed to the Rainbow Coalition because of concerns about their influence over the composition and leadership of the next National Assembly.
According to the minister, some governors wanted to have a strong say in the emergence of senators and members of the House of Representatives who would eventually determine who occupies the Senate presidency and the Speakership after the 2027 elections.
“APC, in their ongoing party primaries, the governors, in their own wisdom, believe that they should be able to put senators or House of Representatives members who they will dictate to on who will become the next Senate President or Speaker,” Wike alleged.
He went further to link the disagreement to Uzodimma’s reported interest in becoming Senate President after completing his tenure as Imo governor.
Wike was categorical about his position on the matter.
“I will never support a character like Hope Uzodimma to be Senate President of Nigeria. Everybody knows that,” he said.
Wike also argued that politicians who may lose APC tickets and subsequently contest on other platforms could become a challenge to the political plans of governors after the elections.
He said such lawmakers, if elected, might not be bound by the political arrangements of the governors who had opposed their candidacies during the nomination process.
“The fear now is that if they run and they win, it means they are not going to support him to be the Senate President,” he said.
Uzodimma, who is currently serving as chairman of the PGF, has in recent days maintained a position against arrangements that could weaken the APC or affect the party’s candidates in the 2027 elections.
The APC governors had met in Abuja last week and declared that they would not support any alliance or political arrangement capable of undermining President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid or the party’s candidates.
Uzodimma, who spoke after the meeting, said the governors remained committed to the APC and its candidates.
“The forum unanimously resolved that its members will not participate in, support, or endorse any alliance or political arrangement capable of undermining the re-election of Mr President, weakening the APC or adversely affecting any candidate of the party at all levels,” he said.
The position has put the APC governors at odds with Wike’s approach to the 2027 elections.
Wike has insisted that his Rainbow Coalition is primarily designed to mobilise support for President Tinubu’s re-election.
He has maintained that supporting Tinubu does not require politicians to support APC candidates in every other election.
The former Rivers State governor has also rejected claims that the coalition was created to undermine the APC.
He recalled the role played by the G5 governors during the 2023 presidential election, arguing that supporting Tinubu for president did not prevent politicians in the group from backing candidates of their respective parties in other elections.
“In 2023, the G5 leadership said we were going to support Mr President. But we never said that all our candidates in other elections will fail,” Wike said.
He also pointed to the voting pattern in Rivers State during the 2023 elections, where Tinubu won the presidential election while candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured victories in several legislative and state-level contests.
“Who will be more confused? Is it not my candidates that will even be more confused when I tell them to support Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and then they go back to support other candidates?” he asked.
The FCT minister has further denied reports that President Tinubu agreed to concede nine states to him or the Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.
“Which are those nine states? Tell us that they said the President agreed with me that he is conceding nine states,” Wike said.
He maintained that his political activities were focused on promoting the Tinubu administration and mobilising support for the President based on what he described as the achievements of the government.
“Mr President is showing his report card. We are telling Nigerians what he has been doing and why he should be re-elected,” Wike said.
