Orji Uzor Kalu has reacted to the growing dispute between the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governors’ Forum and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over the Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.
The former Abia State governor and senator representing Abia North spoke as APC governors rejected political arrangements they said could weaken the party or affect its candidates in the 2027 polls.
The governors announced their position after a meeting in Abuja on Monday. Their chairman, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, said the forum would not support alliances that could undermine President Bola Tinubu’s re-election or APC candidates at any level.
The disagreement centres on Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, which the FCT minister says is designed to mobilise support for Tinubu across political parties.
Wike has also rejected suggestions that the coalition represents an alliance with the APC. He said the coalition supports Tinubu’s presidential bid, while political parties remain free to field candidates for governorship and legislative elections.
The minister also challenged critics of the coalition, arguing that support for Tinubu should not prevent other parties from contesting elections.
The APC governors, however, want their members to campaign for the party’s candidates across the ballot. They said their campaign structure would focus exclusively on APC candidates.
The dispute has therefore created a clear political disagreement over how support for Tinubu should operate alongside contests for other elective offices.
Meanwhile, the controversy has continued to attract reactions from APC figures across the country. The South-East APC leadership has also backed the governors’ position and rejected what it called the Rainbow Coalition.
For now, the disagreement remains centred on party loyalty, cross-party mobilisation and the competing political interests emerging ahead of the 2027 elections.
