A foundation member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to be cautious in handling the demand by APC governors that he should distance himself from the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the emerging Rainbow Coalition.
Okechukwu, in a press release issued on Wednesday, described some of those behind the demand as “Few Pretender Governors” within the party.
He said the matter should have been handled through internal party channels rather than being brought to the public domain.
” In my 28 years of participation in Nigerian party politics, I have never seen where such an elementary issue was pretentiously thrown open. Don’t you have access to Mr. President, and what is the proverbial caucus meant for?” Okechukwu queried.
“My summation is simple: Mr. President, beware of pretenders.”
The APC chieftain said some of the governors pushing for Wike to be sidelined had not delivered sufficiently on dividends of democracy in their states.
He cautioned the President not to fall into what he described as a political trap arising from weaknesses in a few states.
Okechukwu argued that there was nothing wrong with President Tinubu maintaining his political relationship with Wike, given the FCT Minister’s role in the 2023 presidential election.
“It is not improper for Mr. President to maintain the alliance with Wike after we harvested the Wike masquerade, which not only boosted our great party’s votes in 2023, but also denied His Excellency Atiku Abubakar substantial votes and will mobilise voters in states where some governors had alienated the electorate by personalising power,” he said.
Responding to the position of the Progressive Governors Forum that they would lead the campaign for President Tinubu in 2027, Okechukwu said the President had not sidelined the governors.
According to him, what the President needs is supplementary support from other political structures, especially in areas where the electorate feels marginalised.
“Mr. President has never overlooked the governors. All he wants is supplementary votes from Wike, especially in states where the electorate is angry.
“The governors should therefore concentrate on strengthening their relationship with the electorate rather than asking Mr. President to abandon a political alliance that could broaden the APC’s electoral reach.”
Okechukwu urged President Tinubu to keep his options open and maintain a broad political coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
