Tinubu’s Campaign Spokesperson Sends Strong Message to Wike, and APC Govs Amidst Dispute
- APC Presidential Campaign Council spokesperson Ima Niboro responded to the public dispute between FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and APC governors over a proposed Rainbow Coalition for Tinubu's 2027 re-election
- Wike had labelled APC governors as 'politically lazy' for rejecting his coalition idea, prompting PGF Chairman Hope Uzodimma to defend the governors' stance
- Niboro urged both sides to leave television studios and take their campaigns directly to voters in communities and marketplaces
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APC Presidential Campaign Council spokesperson Ima Niboro has called on FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and All Progressives Congress (APC) governors to stop their public quarrel and focus on voter mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking on Arise Television's The Morning Show, Niboro said the ongoing exchanges between the two sides were achieving nothing. "When I said tone down the rhetoric, I do not mean stop working. Stop talking, go and work," he said.
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What triggered the dispute
The row centres on Wike's push for a Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party arrangement he says would pool politicians from different parties behind President Bola Tinubu's re-election bid without dissolving existing party structures or interfering in governorship and legislative contests.
APC governors have rejected the proposal, insisting their political operations will remain focused entirely on the party and its candidates at every level of the 2027 elections. The disagreement turned personal when Wike called the governors "politically lazy" for their stance. Progressive Governors' Forum Chairman Senator Hope Uzodimma pushed back, defending the governors' position. Wike then questioned Uzodimma's record in delivering support for Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election.
The tension between Wike and the APC fold has its roots in the 2023 election cycle, when Wike and four other PDP governors — Seyi Makinde, Samuel Ortom, Okezie Ikpeazu, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi — broke with their party's presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, forming the G5 group. Wike later joined Tinubu's administration as a minister while retaining his PDP membership, creating an unusual political arrangement that has carried forward into the current 2027 preparations.
Niboro calls for grassroots action
Niboro made clear he was not asking either side to stop campaigning, but to redirect their energy away from media appearances and towards voters on the ground. "All this shouting is not taking anybody anywhere. Go and work. Go and establish your authority on your political base," he said.
He called on political leaders to engage voters directly in communities and markets. "Get on the TV cameras. Go to the people. Go to the streets. Go to the marketplaces. Go and win the people," he added.
His position was that any leader claiming influence should prove it through actual grassroots mobilisation rather than public statements. "Stop all this high-sounding grammar that they are blowin everywhere is not leading anybody anywhere. Go and work," Niboro said. "If you're a political leader, stop talking. Go and work. That is my point."
Wike explains how APC governors failed Fubara
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has accused All Progressives Congress (APC) governors of orchestrating moves against him and undermining Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, tracing the root of the conflict to his ministerial appointment.
Source: Legit.ng
