Farouk Aliyu Warns Wike Against Using APC for PDP Political Strategy

A fresh political dispute has emerged between former House of Representatives Minority Leader Farouk Aliyu and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, following a public exchange over the role of the APC governors in President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign.

Aliyu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has accused Wike of being unnecessarily confrontational in his response to the governors and warned that the ruling party would not allow its political structure to be used to strengthen another party.

The disagreement follows Wike’s criticism of APC governors after they rejected political arrangements that they said could weaken the APC or affect the interests of its candidates in the 2027 elections.

How the disagreement started

The latest dispute centres on Wike’s proposed “Rainbow Coalition,” a cross-party political arrangement through which he says he intends to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The FCT minister has maintained that supporting Tinubu does not require him to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), nor does it prevent the PDP and other parties from fielding candidates for governorship and legislative positions.

Wike has also said President Tinubu is aware of his political activities and that the coalition is not an APC structure.

The position has, however, raised concerns within the APC.

The Progressive Governors Forum, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, said the governors would not support political arrangements capable of weakening the APC, creating divided loyalty or undermining APC candidates during the 2027 elections.

Wike calls APC governors “politically lazy”

Wike subsequently responded publicly, describing the APC governors as “politically lazy” and arguing that their concerns about his coalition did not have a sufficient basis.

He questioned why politicians supporting Tinubu could not simultaneously support candidates from their respective parties in other elections.

Wike pointed to examples such as Anambra Governor Chukwuma Soludo, Osun Governor Ademola Adeleke and Abia Governor Alex Otti to support his argument that political support for a presidential candidate does not automatically mean abandoning one’s party in other contests.

He also argued that his support for Tinubu was consistent with his decision during the 2023 presidential election, when he was part of the PDP’s G5 group of governors that backed Tinubu despite remaining members of the opposition party.

Farouk Aliyu pushes back

Aliyu has now challenged Wike’s approach, describing the minister’s public exchanges with APC governors as inappropriate.

Speaking on Arise News on Thursday, Aliyu said political disagreements should not be allowed to become personal confrontations and urged Wike to exercise restraint in his comments about APC leaders.

He also argued that Wike’s appointment as FCT minister under the Tinubu administration represented significant recognition of his political support for the president.

According to Aliyu, the APC is willing to accept support from politicians outside the party, but that support should not be used as a route for influencing or weakening the party’s own political organisation.

His argument reflects the central disagreement between the two sides: Wike presents his coalition as a broader effort to mobilise votes for Tinubu across party lines, while APC figures are concerned about maintaining the party’s structure and protecting its candidates in elections taking place alongside the presidential contest.

“We won’t allow him” — Aliyu

Aliyu went further by warning that Wike should not expect his support for Tinubu to give him control over the APC’s political machinery.

He said:

“We will not allow him to also use our party, the APC, to build his own party, the PDP.”

Aliyu’s comments underline the extent to which the dispute has moved beyond the question of whether Wike supports Tinubu.

The deeper issue is now about who controls the political structures that will mobilise voters for the 2027 elections and whether presidential support can operate independently of party structures at the governorship and legislative levels.

Why the disagreement matters ahead of 2027

Nigeria’s 2027 elections will involve presidential, governorship, National Assembly and state assembly contests. Political alliances therefore have the potential to produce different combinations of support at different levels of the ballot.

Wike’s argument is that politicians can support Tinubu for president while continuing to support candidates from their own parties in other contests.

The APC governors’ position, as publicly reported, is that political arrangements should not undermine the party’s candidates or create competing campaign structures.

That difference could become increasingly significant as political parties and influential figures organise their campaigns ahead of the election cycle.

The disagreement has already prompted calls from figures within the president’s political camp for the public exchanges to end. APC campaign spokesperson Ima Niboro described the dispute as a quarrel that should not distract from the broader objective of mobilising support for Tinubu.

What happens next?

For now, there is no indication that the disagreement has resulted in a formal break between Wike and the presidency. Wike continues to publicly express support for Tinubu and insists that the president is aware of his political activities.

Aliyu, meanwhile, has called for the dispute to be managed within the broader interests of the APC and the government.

The next significant development will likely be whether the presidency intervenes directly in the disagreement, whether APC governors maintain their opposition to Wike’s political arrangement, and how Wike’s cross-party mobilisation develops as the 2027 election approaches.

For voters and political observers, the key issue to watch is therefore not simply the exchange of words between Wike and Aliyu, but whether the competing approaches to presidential and down-ballot campaigning produce a more formal political realignment ahead of 2027.