Why APC Governors are Concerned About Wike, Ex-Spokesman for Tinubu

A former spokesman for President Bola Tinubu in the South-East, Denge Onoh, has linked the growing clash between Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, and governors from the All Progressives Congress to Wike's long history of using political alliances to weaken established political groups.

Onoh made this statement on Thursday after Wike's recent media chat where the FCT minister criticized APC governors who are against his political activities, including his new "Rainbow Coalition."

On Wike’s current fight with APC governors, Onoh said the minister’s political moves raised concerns within the ruling party due to his ongoing influence over groups outside the APC.

The South-East politician pointed out that Wike's political platform had previously backed candidates for legislative and governorship elections under the Peoples Democratic Party. He argued that Wike's political connections are still linked to the opposition party even though he is part of the APC-led Federal Executive Council.

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.

"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.'

Onoh added that Wike has been absorbed into an APC-led administration while trying to keep the remnants of the PDP structure in Rivers State. He now finds himself in a conflict zone. Higher political forces at the national level keep using Wike to disrupt opposition strongholds and manage political balances.

The former spokesman also said that APC governors are cautious about Wike’s activities because they could hurt the party’s unity ahead of the 2027 elections.

Onoh claimed that Wike’s "Rainbow Coalition" is part of a larger plan for the minister to stay politically relevant and negotiate his position beyond the 2027 elections.

He called Wike “the wrecking ball of the Jonathan Presidency,” claiming that the former minister played a role in the political battle between Jonathan and Amaechi after their relationship soured.

"Wike’s political journey, from his beginnings as a local government chairman to his current position, shows a consistent, troubling pattern.

"Rather than a path of independent leadership, it is a legacy filled with political controversies and a repeated role as a political wrecking ball used by higher authorities to crush political opponents," he said.

His comments came just a day after Wike called the governors “politically lazy” for opposing his Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The APC governors, led by the Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, announced that they would not join, support, or endorse any alliance that could hurt President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid or impact APC candidates in any way.

But Wike, in an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time on Tuesday, dismissed the governors’ worries. He argued that his support for Tinubu did not mean he had abandoned the PDP or that other parties should be blocked from fielding candidates.