Political tensions over the 2027 elections came into sharp focus at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday.
This is just as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, traded veiled jabs that appeared to expose competing interests within the camp supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
Although neither Wike nor Akpabio mentioned Uzodimma by name in their remarks at the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, the timing and substance of their interventions carried particular significance.
This is against the backdrop of recent disagreements over campaign strategy and the battle for the Senate presidency after the 2027 elections.
Wike, who is a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but has declared support for Tinubu’s re-election, challenged APC governors to prove their loyalty by delivering electoral victories in their respective states.
He warned that their positions in the campaign council should not be mistaken for evidence of political success.
“If you don’t deliver your state and the President wins, don’t say we have won. It is not a question of I am chairman of this, I am secretary of this, I am a member of this,” he said.
The FCT minister, who was appointed coordinator for Rivers State and the FCT in the campaign council, reinforced the challenge by invoking Lagos State, a traditional APC stronghold, saying he had warned the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, against assuming victory without securing the state.
“I told the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, the other day that if the President did not win in Lagos, don’t say we have won,” Wike said.
The remarks came amid an escalating disagreement between the minister and APC governors over his Rainbow Coalition, a political arrangement intended to mobilise support for Tinubu across party lines.
The dispute intensified in September when Uzodimma, chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), declared that APC governors would not participate in or endorse political arrangements capable of weakening the ruling party or undermining its candidates in the 2027 elections.
The position effectively challenged Wike’s strategy of supporting Tinubu while maintaining his political independence from the APC, including his involvement in opposition-party contests.
After Uzodimma made known his stance, Wike publicly attacked the governor whom he accused of being unable to deliver for Tinubu in 2023.
“Hope in his own state, Imo state, he was Governor yet President Tinubu didn’t get 10% votes in the 2023 elections,” he had said.
In yet another interview, Wike came down hard on Uzodimma, saying, “This man’s office will expire in January 2028. Now, he wants to leave his office to run for Senate. I will never support a character of Hope Uzodimma to be Senate President of Nigeria.”
There are videos in circulation of how Wike, who is the Coordinator of the Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers and FCT, allegedly snubbed Uzodimma at the campaign council inauguration, a possible indication that their rift is far from over.
Meanwhile, in his brief speech at the occasion, Akpabio, who is Vice Chairman 1 of the Council, touched on the emerging contest for the leadership of the 11th Senate.
The Senate President cautioned governors against abandoning their constituents in pursuit of political offices that might not be available to them, drawing on his experience as a former governor of Akwa Ibom State.
“For my brothers who are governors, I want you to know that you must not abandon your people. I did eight years as a governor. And the constitution says you should do eight years. There’s no need for you to start eyeing another position that is not available”, he said.
Although he did not identify his target, the warning came amid reports that Uzodimma, who is completing his second term as Imo governor, is eyeing a Senate seat and could seek to succeed Akpabio as Senate President.
The contest has acquired another dimension since the Senate amended its standing rules in May to require aspirants to the offices of Senate President and Deputy Senate President to have served at least eight years in the chamber, equivalent to two consecutive terms immediately preceding their nomination.
The rule has raised questions about the eligibility of incoming senators who have not accumulated the required years of service, including governors seeking to move directly from state government to the upper chamber.
Akpabio served as Akwa Ibom governor from 2007 to 2015 before moving to the National Assembly.
He also invoked his political longevity to reinforce his argument that electoral success depends on maintaining a relationship with the electorate.
“I have been in this business for over 25 years, and I always win. And why I always win is because I stand with people. Go and mend your clothes when they are not torn,” he said.
The Senate President has also been seeking political support for a return to the office after the 2027 elections.
At plenary on Thursday, some lawmakers passed a vote of confidence in Akpabio and endorsed him as President of the 11th Senate.
Senator Tahir Monguno had moved the motion endorsing Akpabio for the top job, while Senator Cyril Fasuyi (Ekiti North), endorsed the motion. Extending their endorsement to Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and other principal officers, senators voiced unified support to keep the current leadership structure intact.
“I hereby support the motion ably moved by Senator Monguno that the seat of the Senate President in the 11th Assembly is not open to any contest. It is already occupied by Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio,” Fasuyi said.
Acknowledging the intense interest usually surrounding leadership seats, Akpabio noted that with executive contests concluded, attention naturally shifts to the legislature.
“I know the position of president is gone, the position of vice president is gone, the only one that is left now is the position of Senate President. So, everybody will want to contest that,” Akpabio remarked, expressing optimism that many current members would return in the 11th Assembly.
At the APC Presidential Campaign inauguration, Uzodimma, who is secretary of the Council, was very diplomatic in passing across his message. While he called for unity and reconciliation, the governor reiterated his position that every candidate flying the flag of the party, (not just the president), deserved being supported.
Uzodimma’s position stands in contrast with that of Rainbow Coalition which has some candidates challenging those of the ruling party for some positions.
“We must reconcile any differences we may have and rally as one family behind the party and all our candidates. We must speak to Nigerians as one family with one voice and one message.
“And to our candidates, permit me one appeal. The primaries are behind us. Whatever disagreements remain, the success of any one of us cannot be built on the failure of another, and every candidate who carries our flag deserves the full support of the whole party. Our unity should be unassailable,” he said.
Tinubu, who inaugurated the council, urged its members to demonstrate unity and commitment ahead of the 2027 general election.
But the exchanges suggest that the challenge will extend beyond assembling a list of supporters to reconciling their competing interests in states and constituencies where they remain political opponents. Beneath the public declarations of support, the remarks by Wike and Akpabio illustrated how disagreements over political ambition, party loyalty and control of future offices have followed the campaign project into the very gathering intended to launch it.
(Daily Trust)
