Former South-East spokesman for President Bola Tinubu’s 2023 campaign, Denge Josef Onoh, has attributed the recent disagreements between FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors to what he described as a long-standing pattern in Wike’s political career.
Onoh made the claim in a statement issued to journalists in Lagos while reacting to recent comments by Wike concerning some APC governors.
He alleged that Wike had consistently relied on political structures and alliances to challenge opponents, arguing that a similar approach was evident in his current political activities under the APC-led Federal Government.
Onoh traced Wike’s political career to his tenure as chairman of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State from 1999 to 2007. He also recalled Wike’s subsequent appointment as Chief of Staff to then Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, where he said the minister became involved in managing the state’s political structure.
He further referenced Wike’s tenure as Minister of State for Education under former President Goodluck Jonathan, describing that period as part of the political rivalry between the Jonathan administration and Amaechi.
Onoh also pointed to the political contest in Rivers State ahead of the 2015 elections and Wike’s participation in the 2022 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary, which was won by Atiku Abubakar.
He questioned Wike’s subsequent role in the G-5 Governors’ opposition to Atiku during the 2023 presidential election, arguing that the group’s position contributed to divisions within the PDP and indirectly benefited Tinubu’s campaign.
Onoh said he had been among those who supported bringing Wike into Tinubu’s campaign at the time, arguing that subsequent political developments had reinforced his position.
He also criticised Wike’s comments concerning the voting pattern of South-East governors during the 2023 presidential election. Onoh attributed the region’s voting behaviour largely to the popularity of Labour Party candidate Peter Obi, a South-East indigene, and said the political circumstances differed from those in other parts of the country.
On Wike’s administration of the Federal Capital Territory, Onoh said Abuja presented a different political and administrative environment from Rivers State. He cited controversies over demolitions and disputes involving properties owned by prominent Nigerians, arguing that actions in the nation’s capital attract heightened attention because of the presence of diplomatic missions, international organisations and foreign media.
Onoh warned that politically sensitive actions in Abuja during an election period could draw international scrutiny and influence perceptions of Nigeria’s democratic institutions.
Turning to Wike’s current relationship with APC governors, Onoh alleged that the minister’s political activities and disagreements with members of the ruling party had created tensions within the party.
He argued that Wike’s continued links to political structures associated with the PDP, while serving in an APC-led administration, had placed him in a politically difficult position.
Onoh further alleged that some political actors had tolerated Wike because they considered his influence useful in managing opposition alliances and political realignments. He claimed, however, that APC governors were increasingly concerned that such activities could contribute to divisions within the ruling party.
He also criticised the political arrangement popularly referred to as the “Rainbow Coalition”, alleging that it could create a parallel political structure outside the APC and potentially influence candidates and voting patterns ahead of the 2027 elections.
Onoh argued that President Tinubu would eventually need to address tensions between the interests of APC governors and Wike’s political activities.
Wike has previously maintained that the Rainbow Coalition is not an APC structure and has said his support for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election does not amount to a commitment to support every APC candidate in state and legislative elections.
The dispute comes amid broader political disagreements involving Wike and APC governors, including Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma. Onoh has separately called on Wike to either formally join the APC or refrain from involvement in the party’s internal affairs.
“No administration can successfully govern or secure a national mandate by alienating the formal party executives and governors who command the legal machinery of our ruling party,” Onoh said.
He urged the President to protect the cohesion of the APC and ensure that individual political interests did not undermine the party’s institutional structures.
Onoh concluded by describing Wike as a political actor whose career, in his assessment, had been shaped by tactical alliances and confrontations with political structures.
He said the current disagreement between Wike and some APC governors should therefore be viewed within the broader context of the minister’s political history and his relationships with successive political administrations and parties.
