Wike Hits Back At Uzodimma Over Tinubu’s 2023 Performance In Imo
Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has challenged Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Hope Uzodimma, over the All Progressives Congress’ performance in the state during the 2023 presidential election. Wike said the Rainbow Coalition should not be blamed for the poor showing of President Bola Tinubu and the APC in the presidential poll, arguing that the coalition was not created as an APC structure but as a platform for politicians from different parties who support the President’s re-election. In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, Wike said his focus ahead of the 2027 election was to mobilise support for Tinubu rather than interfere in governorship or other state-level contests. He questioned how the APC secured two senatorial seats in Imo in 2023 while receiving less than 15 per cent of the presidential vote in the state during elections held on the same day. Wike also cited similar voting patterns in Ebonyi, Abia and Enugu, where he said the APC performed better in National Assembly elections despite the President recording a significantly lower percentage in the presidential poll.
Wike maintained that political competition at the state level should be treated separately from the presidential contest, insisting that his support in 2027 was specifically for Tinubu. He said he had not needed to meet with the APC before supporting the President in 2023 and had never promised that the PDP would not field candidates for governorship and legislative elections in 2027. The minister urged political stakeholders to prioritise Tinubu’s re-election before turning their attention to state contests, saying genuine mobilisation should be measured by votes secured from polling units. His comments followed a warning by APC governors against the creation of parallel political structures that could undermine Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, a position widely viewed as a response to the Rainbow Coalition associated with Wike. Uzodimma, whom Wike recently accused of sponsoring political attacks against him, issued the warning on behalf of the APC governors after a closed-door meeting at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.
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