By Zuleihat Owuiye, Nigeria

President Bola Tinubu is expected to intervene in the growing disagreement between Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike and governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections.

A senior presidential aide familiar with the matter told The PUNCH that Tinubu was expected to engage the parties in an effort to resolve their differences. The aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the intervention could take place in France before the end of the week, where the President is currently on vacation.

The disagreement centres partly on Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, a multi-party political platform through which the minister has said he is mobilising support for Tinubu’s re-election while retaining the freedom to support candidates outside the APC in other elections.

Wike, a leader of the Peoples Democratic Party who currently serves in the APC-led Federal Government, has clashed with some APC governors over the coalition.

During a recent media appearance, Wike alleged that Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma were among those behind his recent political challenges.

Wike has argued that the opposition to his coalition is connected to its growing political activities and its support for Tinubu at the presidential level while backing candidates from other parties in state and legislative contests.

Uzodimma, who chairs the Progressive Governors’ Forum, responded that APC governors would not support any political arrangement capable of weakening the party or undermining Tinubu’s re-election campaign.

He maintained that APC governors were committed to supporting candidates of the ruling party at all levels.

Wike, however, has maintained that supporting Tinubu does not mean endorsing APC candidates in every election. He has said the Rainbow Coalition is focused on the President’s re-election while remaining open to supporting candidates from other political parties in governorship and legislative contests.

The dispute has also attracted reactions from APC leaders in the South-East. The party’s South-East leadership backed the Progressive Governors’ Forum and called on Wike to withdraw what it described as offensive comments directed at APC governors.

In a statement signed by the APC National Vice Chairman for the South-East, Ijeomah Arodiogbu, and state party chairmen from the region, the leaders accused Wike of attempting to influence the political fortunes of sitting APC governors ahead of 2027. They also urged him to respect party structures and the authority of elected governors.

Meanwhile, former House Minority Leader Farouk Adamu-Aliyu criticised Wike’s approach to the disagreement, arguing that although the APC recognised Wike’s role in the events surrounding the 2023 election, he should not use his relationship with Tinubu to influence the affairs of the ruling party.

Adamu-Aliyu also stressed that Wike is not an APC member and therefore should not be allowed to dictate the party’s internal affairs.

Against the backdrop of the growing disagreement, the presidential aide said Tinubu was expected to seek a resolution that would prevent the minister and the governors from working at cross-purposes ahead of the 2027 elections.

The aide said the President, as leader of the ruling party, would engage the parties to resolve their differences and encourage cooperation.

Wike’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, could not be reached for comment at the time of filing the report.