Handle face-off with Wike with discretion, Olabode Omoyele counsels APC governors

A public affairs analyst, Olabode Omoyele, has advised governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to handle their growing acrimony with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, with discretion.

Olabode said the public confrontation between the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and the minister over his Rainbow Coalition poses a threat to President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.

The PGF, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, had at its meeting in Abuja last week resolved that APC governors would not participate in, support or endorse any alliance outside the party structure that could undermine President Tinubu or weaken APC candidates at any level.

The resolution was seen as a direct response to Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party platform which the minister said is designed to mobilise support for Tinubu’s second term while allowing members to pursue other political interests at state and legislative levels.

But Omoyele, in a statement this morning in Lagos, said while the governors’ concern for party discipline is legitimate, going public with attacks on Wike was ill-advised.

According to him, Wike remains a strategic asset to the Tinubu administration and the APC, recalling his role in the G-5 governors’ revolt in 2023 that contributed to Tinubu’s victory and his recent mobilisation for the APC in the FCT Area Council polls.

“What the APC governors need is discreet engagement, not open acrimony. Wike is not a member of the APC, but he is working for the success of the President. To openly antagonise him in the media is to create an unnecessary distraction for the administration,” Omoyele said.

He noted that the minister had been open about his political model, supporting Tinubu at the presidential level while maintaining his structure elsewhere, similar to what was done in 2023.

Olabode added: “If there are concerns about the implications of the Rainbow Coalition for APC candidates in 2027, the PGF should table such concerns privately before President Tinubu who is the leader of the party, rather than issuing communiques that suggest disunity in the ruling camp.”

He urged both sides to close ranks, stressing that public mudslinging would only embolden the opposition.

“The interest is President Tinubu’s re-election and the stability of the APC. This cold war must not be allowed to fester. The governors should handle this matter with tact and discretion,” Olabode said.