Rainbow coalition: The sky is big enough for all birds to fly, by Kola Amzat

In the past few days, the APC governors and Federal Minister in charge of FCT administration-Nyesom Wike have been at daggers drawn.

The bone of contention: the APC governors declared Wike’s Rainbow Coalition as a political arrangement capable of undermining the re-election of president or weakening the APC ahead of the 2027 elections and therefore, affirmed that they won’t support the coalition’s partnership or collaboration with the ruling party.

While Governor Hope Uzodinma-the Chairman of APC’s Governor’s Forum maintained that the forum commitment remained exclusively to APC candidates at all levels, Wike stoutly defended his Rainbow Coalition, insisting that the political group was aimed at supporting the president, while strengthening the opposition’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the APC in other electoral contests.    

For the umpteenth time, Wike had maintained that his support for President Tinubu didn’t amount to supporting other APC candidates across the states, stressing that he remained free to support candidates of his choice across parties.

Except there are other hidden facts kept away from the members of the public, Wike position should be respected. It’s against this backdrop that the APC governors’ stance concerning Rainbow Coalition is considered selfish, preposterous, abhorred, condemnable and more importantly, unappreciative of the FCT minister unalloyed and total support for the president’s victory during the 2023 presidential elections, and EVEN NOW, as the nation inches to the 2027 general elections.

Rather than dissipating energy at convincing Nigerians of Wike’s attempts at undermining the electoral chances of the president, its APC governors themselves are deliberately plotting to frustrate the second term bid of the president. This is through their conduct which to the politically savvy and discerning Nigerians is myopic, self-serving,  and more importantly, disruptive.      

President Tinubu and Minister Wike’s political alliance and collaboration didn’t just start today. It dated back to pre-2023 general elections, even when some of today’s APC governors hadn’t emerged.

The duo’s political agreement is rooted in mutual trust, mutual understanding, and doctrine of give and take, and more importantly. unalloyed loyalty to the FCT minister.

Of course, it’s in the public domain that Wike was a very formidable PDP member and a frontline presidential aspirant of the party for the 2023 general elections. It’s the consequence of the deep frustration of his failure to emerge as the party’s flag bearer-an unsavory development he attributed to betrayal, that propelled him and the then 4 PDP governors to seek solace and ultimately pitch their tents with the then APC presidential candidate-Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

The rest is history!

Meanwhile, the ex-Lagos governor handsomely won the presidential elections, and consequently got sworn in as president.

Of course, the political agreement between the president and FCT minister has remained confidential till date.

Despite this, the fact remains that the two leaders-President Tinubu and Nyesom Wike have been very comfortable and delighted with whatever agreement is prevailing between them.

Attempts made in the past by APC leadership hierarchy to INTRUDE consistently met a brick wall.

Nigerians vividly recall that the National Working Committee (NWC) of APC once made frantic efforts to support Governor Simi Fubara during his travails with Wike and Rivers state house of assembly members, even before the declaration of State of Emergency. Wike bloc successfully rebuffed them, as the political group ultimately triumphed.

Also during the recently concluded primaries, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party re-appeared this time with the active collaboration of APC governors to rescue the same Fubara when it became apparent that Wike led Political Rainbow Coalition had resolved that the Fubara wouldn’t be the APC gubernatorial candidate for the forthcoming elections. They couldn’t move ahead as the Wike political group also triumphed. 

Now to the challenge at hand: the unwarranted bickering and attacks been directed at Wike by APC governors’ forum on account of his Rainbow Coalition which everyone has come to acknowledge is aimed mainly at canvassing support of electorates for the second term bid of the president.

So, what’s all the fuss about? What do we achieve with the shenanigans of the APC governors’ forum?

Wike has never left anyone in doubt that his primary loyalty is to the president, as well as the president’s aspiration for a second term in office. And, he has never been faulted on this declaration.

He has also re-emphasized that he has no interest whatsoever in joining APC, and that he’s quite comfortable with PDP where he’s a national leader, as well as the major financier and driver.

Of course, APC governors would be politically naïve and perhaps insincere if they expect him to support any other APC candidate other than the president who he has confidential political agreement with.

It’s somehow curious that the governors’ forum could be creating problems where there are none, particularly at a critical period like this when all hands should be on the deck.

Ahead of the forthcoming general elections, there are known avowed political adversaries and enemies of the nation who are supposed to be  subject to a barrage of attacks from the governors’ forum.

There are propagandists, as well as fabricators and peddlers of falsehoods that are supposed to have been at the receiving end by now.

There is a key opposition figure who has engaged foreign consultants for a whopping sum of $1.2 million for the purpose of exhuming an already closed and concluded case against the president.

There is a political chieftain of the opposition party who on account of lack of knowledge of working of the economy has made a declaration to restore fuel subsidy.

There is a politician who has recklessly pronounced that if elected, he would re-open Nigerian borders, a thoughtless initiative aimed at hoodwinking Nigerians and curry their support for votes.

The above incongruous men are the ones the APC governors ought to have been directing their sporadic attacks and condemnation at, and not Wike Nyesom who Nigerians expect them to be collaborating with in order to ensure president’s re-election.

If indeed the governors fervently and sincerely desire the re-election of the president, they ought to have by now constitute a separate think-tank committee other than that of APC national campaign council, that would provide a framework in form of COUNTER-FOIL that would counter Atiku Abubakar’s declaration to restore fuel subsidy if elected, re-open Nigerian borders, change the framework of NELFUND, concession of NNPCL, as well as disposal of the nation Refineries.

Instead of unduly assaulting FCT minister, the APC governors’ special committee should by now be overwhelming Nigerians with facts and figures of huge accomplishments that have been recorded on account of fuel subsidy removal of which they’re the major beneficiaries.

They ought to have been providing Nigerians of inherent dangers in re-opening borders, as well as manifold gains that have been recorded through the borders closure.

The APC governors ought to have provided valid information on Atiku Abubakar antecedent with respect to disposal of national assets and monuments.

Nigerians ought to have been advised of the fact that the ex-vice president could not be entrusted with disposal of national assets, as his past stewardship on similar note ended in tragedy for the nation as he sold the national assets & monuments to his proxies and phony companies.

Without much ado, it’s apparent that APC governors’ aggression is a misplaced one.

They would therefore do well by immediately halting this regime of animosity and undue accusation towards FCT ministers and start deploying their resources and efforts productively towards attracting and winning the support of millions of Nigerian electorates for their respective electoral victories and ultimately, for the re-election of the president.

They would also do well by leaving Wike alone to concentrate and further strengthen his Rainbow Coalition bloc for the purpose of attracting millions of Nigerians voters for the president in Rivers, Cross River, Imo, Kwara and other parts of the country where he holds sway.

Finally, Nigerians expect the governors to work in concert with the FCT minister to deliver several millions of votes for the president during the 2027 general elections.

Any other agenda by the governors would be deemed as sabotage.                      

Kola AMZAT (FCA, FCIB, FCTI, MBA, Bsc )

Lagos based Financial & Management Consultants,

09077509348.