Former Edo State Governor and Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has said he is comfortable with the ongoing political differences between the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, 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.
He stressed that both Wike and the APC governors were committed to supporting the President.
The senator made the clarification on Tuesday during an interview on TVC, against the backdrop of the growing disagreement between Wike and the APC Governors’ Forum over the minister’s Rainbow Coalition.
Wike, who remains outside the APC, has repeatedly declared his support for Tinubu’s second-term bid while maintaining that his backing for the President does not amount to support for the APC or its candidates in other elections.
His position has, however, drawn criticism from APC governors, who have rejected political arrangements that could weaken the party’s candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Progressive Governors’ Forum subsequently maintained that APC governors would support Tinubu and candidates of the ruling party, rejecting arrangements that could result in divided political loyalty.
But Oshiomhole said the differences between the two sides did not bother him because their positions converge on Tinubu’s re-election.
“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.
“I am comfortable with the fact that the two sides are working for the same goal, supporting the President,” he said.
The former governor added that he had not heard any argument suggesting that Wike or any of the APC governors was opposed to Tinubu’s return to office.
“I have not heard any side of the argument suggesting that anyone, including the FCT Minister, is opposed to President Tinubu’s re-election.
“He has said so himself repeatedly that he is not an APC person; he is not a member of the APC, but he supports the President,” Oshiomhole said.
Wike has similarly maintained that the Rainbow Coalition is not an arrangement with the APC but a platform involving members of different political parties who support Tinubu’s re-election. He has also argued that political parties remain free to field candidates for governorship and legislative elections
Meanwhile, the dispute was further reflected in Ondo State, where the state chapter of the APC distanced itself from Wike’s Rainbow Coalition.
The APC state secretary, Alex Kalejaye, said the party would give full support to Tinubu as well as its candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and Ondo State House of Assembly.
Kalejaye said the party was committed to mobilising votes for the President, three senatorial candidates, nine House of Representatives candidates and 26 House of Assembly candidates, describing the position as “not negotiable.”
He warned that the party would sanction members involved in anti-party activities, particularly those supporting candidates on other political platforms.
“The state secretariat views romancing with other political parties or candidates on other platforms as a clear affront to our collective success. Anyone caught indulging in such activities will be appropriately sanctioned,” he said.
The Ondo APC also said it was targeting one million votes in the state and argued that supporting Tinubu on one platform while backing candidates of other parties could create confusion and potentially cause an electoral crisis on election day.
