Former Edo State Governor and Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, says he is comfortable with the political differences between FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Oshiomhole said the disagreement should not be interpreted as opposition to President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, insisting that Wike and the APC governors remain united in their support for the President.
The senator spoke on Tuesday during an interview on TVC amid growing tensions between Wike and the APC Governors’ Forum over the minister’s Rainbow Coalition.
According to Oshiomhole, the two sides may disagree over their political platforms and candidates in other elections, but their positions converge on Tinubu’s second-term bid.
“Wike is supporting President Tinubu and not the APC. The position of some of the APC governors and that of the minister is that they are both unanimous. They are all committed to supporting the re-election of President Tinubu,” he said.
Oshiomhole added, “I am comfortable with the fact that the two sides are working for the same goal, supporting the President.”
He said he had not heard any argument suggesting that Wike or any of the APC governors was opposed to Tinubu’s return to office.
Wike, who is not a member of the APC, has repeatedly said his support for Tinubu does not amount to support for the APC or its candidates in other elections.
The minister has also maintained that the Rainbow Coalition is a broad political platform comprising members of different political parties united by support for Tinubu’s re-election.
However, the APC Governors’ Forum has maintained that its governors would support Tinubu alongside candidates of the ruling party, raising concerns over arrangements that could lead to divided political loyalty.
The disagreement has also surfaced at the state level.
In Ondo State, the APC distanced itself from Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, with the party secretary, Alex Kalejaye, declaring that the party would support Tinubu and all its candidates in the 2027 elections.
Kalejaye said the Ondo APC would mobilise support for Tinubu, three senatorial candidates, nine House of Representatives candidates and 26 House of Assembly candidates.
He warned that party members involved in anti-party activities, including supporting candidates on other platforms, would face sanctions.
The Ondo APC secretary said supporting Tinubu on one platform while backing candidates of other political parties could create confusion during the elections.
The development highlights the continuing tension between Wike’s declared support for Tinubu and the APC’s insistence that its members and structures must support the party’s candidates across the ballot.
