Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Hope Uzodimma, has declined to engage in a public exchange with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, after the minister said he would not support his reported ambition to become Nigeria’s next Senate President.Read original
Wike made the statement on Monday, September 21, 2026, during an appearance on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout, where he discussed his proposed Rainbow Coalition and its growing disagreement with some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors.
When contacted for his reaction, Uzodimma, through his Commissioner for Information, Strategy and Public Orientation, Declan Emelumba, said the governor would not respond to Wike’s comment.
Emelumba said Uzodimma did not want “to react to the comment as credited to Wike for obvious reasons.”
The development comes amid an increasingly public disagreement between Wike and some APC governors over the proposed Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
What Wike said about Uzodimma
During the TVC programme, Wike alleged that the opposition of some APC governors to the Rainbow Coalition was connected to political calculations surrounding the composition and leadership of the next National Assembly.
The FCT minister specifically mentioned Uzodimma, who chairs the PGF, while discussing what he described as the governors’ interest in influencing the emergence of lawmakers who could determine the next Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Wike alleged that some governors wanted to have influence over the selection of senators and House of Representatives members who would eventually decide who occupies the presiding offices of the National Assembly.
He said:
“APC, in their ongoing party primaries, the governors, in their own wisdom, believe that they should be able now to put senators or House of Reps members who they will dictate to who will become the next Senate President or the Speaker.”
Wike then directly addressed Uzodimma’s reported interest in the Senate presidency after the expiration of his tenure as Imo governor.
He said he would not support the Imo governor for the position.
“I will never support a character of Hope Uzodimma to be Senate President of Nigeria. Everybody knows that.”
Wike’s comments have added another layer to the disagreement between the two politicians, who have recently exchanged criticism over their positions on the 2027 elections.
Why Wike linked the issue to the 2027 elections
Wike also argued that some politicians who lose out in APC nomination processes could seek alternative platforms to contest the 2027 elections.
According to him, if such politicians win their elections on other platforms, they may not be willing to support political arrangements favoured by governors who opposed their candidacies.
The minister suggested that this could affect the calculations surrounding the emergence of the next leadership of the National Assembly.
He said:
“The fear now is that if they run and they win, it means they are not going to support him to be the Senate President.”
The comments were made in the context of Wike’s defence of the Rainbow Coalition, which he has described as a political arrangement aimed at mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 while allowing politicians to retain their different party affiliations for other elections.
APC governors oppose political arrangements that could weaken party
The disagreement followed a position earlier announced by APC governors, led by Uzodimma as PGF chairman.
After a meeting in Abuja, the governors said they would not support an alliance or political arrangement that could undermine the APC, its candidates or President Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Uzodimma said the forum had resolved that its members would not participate in or endorse any political arrangement capable of weakening the party or affecting its candidates.
The position effectively placed the APC governors on a different political footing from Wike’s proposed Rainbow Coalition.
Wike, however, has rejected the argument that his coalition is designed to weaken the APC.
Wike insists Rainbow Coalition is about Tinubu
The FCT minister has repeatedly maintained that his primary objective is to mobilise support for President Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
He has argued that supporting Tinubu does not mean politicians must support APC candidates in every other contest on the ballot.
Wike cited the 2023 elections in Rivers State as an example of how voters and politicians could support a presidential candidate while backing different candidates in legislative and state elections.
He argued that the same approach could apply to the proposed Rainbow Coalition in 2027.
Wike has also dismissed reports that Tinubu agreed to concede nine states to him or the coalition.
“Which are those nine states?” Wike asked, while challenging those making the claim to identify the states involved.
He maintained that his political activities are focused on explaining the Tinubu administration’s achievements and mobilising support for the President’s re-election.
Uzodimma chooses not to respond
For now, Uzodimma has chosen not to directly answer Wike’s latest comments.
Through Emelumba, the governor made it clear that he did not intend to respond to the minister’s remarks.
The development leaves the disagreement between the two politicians centred largely on the future of the APC, the Rainbow Coalition and political calculations ahead of the 2027 elections.
Wike’s comments about Uzodimma’s reported Senate presidency ambition have also brought the question of the next National Assembly leadership further into the political discussion, although the actual leadership of the 11th National Assembly will ultimately depend on the outcome of the 2027 elections and subsequent decisions by elected lawmakers.
