The All Progressives Congress (APC) chairman in Imo State, Chief Austin Onyedebelu, has urged the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to formally join the party.
Onyedebelu said this in Abuja on Thursday.
He said if genuinely Wike wants to secure President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, he would not hesitate to join the president’s party.
A political rift has emerged between the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), led by Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State and the Wike-floated Rainbow Coalition.
While Wike, a member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction, says the coalition is a channel to secure Tinubu’s second term, the Uzodimma group perceived the arrangement as capable of weakening APC ranks in the future.
The Imo APC chairman, who described Wike as a threat to Nigeria’s democracy, said the minister could not belong to the PDP and the APC simultaneously.
“There is no provision in the Electoral Act that says one can be a member of two political parties at the same time.
“If Wike wants to work for Mr President, he should join his train. You cannot be at the end of two roads and say you are heading east,” he said.
Onyedebelu accused Wike of using the Rainbow Coalition to revive the PDP and sustain his alleged presidential ambition.
He said that the APC, through its governors, had made its position on the need for a coalition clear, adding that Wike reacted by criticising APC leaders, including Uzodimma.
Onyedebelu further alleged that Wike’s actions were driven by ulterior motives, which, according to him, only visionary politicians such as Uzodimma could decipher.
He advised Wike to stop what he described as attempts to abuse APC leaders, particularly Uzodimma, saying such actions amounted to undermining Nigeria’s democracy.
However, Eze Madumere, a former Deputy Governor of Imo State and PDP senatorial candidate for Imo East, said that Wike remained an exceptional politician.
Madumere said Wike’s political approach reflected the beauty of democracy, as he had charted a course for those who believed in the Rainbow Coalition.
According to him, Wike had, from the outset, made it clear that his political vision was to support Tinubu, a position he demonstrated through the G5 governors during the 2023 general elections.
The PDP chieftain said Wike had been consistent and explicit in declaring his support for Tinubu’s presidency.
