A former South-East spokesman for President Bola Tinubu, Denge Onoh, has attributed the growing tension between Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors to what he described as the minister’s longstanding political strategy of building alliances outside his immediate political party.
Onoh made the submission in a statement issued on Thursday in reaction to Wike’s recent media appearance, during which the FCT minister criticised APC governors who have opposed his political activities and his emerging “Rainbow Coalition” ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to Onoh, Wike’s continued political influence across party lines has raised concerns within the APC, particularly as the minister remains a member of an APC-led Federal Executive Council while maintaining political relationships and structures associated with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He argued that the minister’s political activities had become a source of friction with some APC governors who, according to him, are concerned about the potential impact of the emerging coalition on the party’s internal structure and electoral interests.
Onoh cited Wike’s previous political activities under the PDP, noting that the party structure associated with the former Rivers State governor had fielded candidates for legislative and governorship elections.
He said, “The reason is simple. Wike’s PDP fielded 405 National Assembly candidates to contest across the 109 Senate and 360 House of Representatives seats, and 23 governorship candidates across the states holding gubernatorial elections.”
The former presidential spokesman argued that Wike’s political history helps explain his current disagreement with sections of the APC.
“Wike’s historical pattern of being an aggressive political instrument perfectly explains his current, volatile face-off with several APC governors and the wider APC structure. His political survival has always depended on maintaining a theatre of war,” he said.
Onoh further alleged that Wike’s position within the Tinubu administration, combined with his political influence in Rivers State and beyond, had placed him at the centre of competing political interests.
“Having been absorbed into an APC-led administration while stubbornly trying to hold onto the remnants of the PDP structure in Rivers State, he now finds himself in a friction zone,” Onoh said.
He added that, in his view, “higher political forces within the national framework continue to tolerate and utilise Wike to destabilise opposition strongholds and manage geopolitical balances.”
Onoh also linked the controversy surrounding Wike’s Rainbow Coalition to the broader political calculations ahead of the 2027 elections.
He suggested that the initiative could be aimed at preserving Wike’s political relevance and strengthening his bargaining position as political parties and major blocs begin positioning themselves for the next general elections.
Reflecting on Wike’s political history, Onoh described him as “the wrecking ball of the Jonathan Presidency,” alleging that he played a significant role in the political confrontation between former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi after their relationship deteriorated.
“Wike’s political journey, from his roots as a local government chairman to his contemporary standing, reveals a consistent, troubling pattern.
“Rather than a trajectory of independent statesmanship, it is a legacy defined by bitter political controversies and a recurring role as a political wrecking ball used by higher authorities to decimate political opponents,” Onoh said.
The comments came a day after Wike criticised APC governors who have opposed his political activities and described them as “politically lazy” over their position on the proposed Rainbow Coalition.
The governors, led by the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, had said they would neither participate in, support nor endorse any political alliance that could undermine President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid or affect APC candidates in the 2027 elections.
Wike, however, maintained that his support for President Tinubu did not amount to abandoning the PDP or preventing other political parties from fielding candidates in the elections.
Speaking on Arise TV’s Prime Time on Tuesday, the minister defended his political position, arguing that supporting Tinubu did not require him to relinquish his political identity or prevent opposition parties from participating in the electoral process.
The growing disagreement has further highlighted the political realignments taking place ahead of the 2027 elections, with alliances and counter-alliances emerging within and across Nigeria’s major political parties.
