The APC Grassroots Governance Organisation has cautioned the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, against actions and statements it says could deepen divisions within the All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that his Rainbow Coalition should not be presented as an extension of the ruling party.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the group commended Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Hope Uzodimma, for what it described as his commitment to protecting the interests and structures of the APC.

It also praised Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, for his leadership amid the disagreement over the political coalition being promoted by Wike.

The organisation accused the FCT minister of attempting to isolate Uzodimma and portray the governor as being opposed to a political arrangement supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.

It argued that the dispute should not be allowed to develop into a personal confrontation.

“The party is bigger than any individual quarrel,” the group said.

The organisation maintained that support for President Tinubu should not be used to create uncertainty about the political identity of the Rainbow Coalition or its relationship with the APC.

“The Rainbow Coalition is not the APC. It is not an APC organ. It is not an APC campaign structure. It does not speak for APC governors, APC candidates or APC members,” the group said.

It added that the distinction was particularly important because political parties participating in the coalition could still field candidates against APC candidates in governorship, National Assembly and other elections.

The organisation argued that APC members should therefore not be expected to support an arrangement that could place them in opposition to candidates officially sponsored by their party.

The group also questioned Wike’s position of supporting President Tinubu while remaining outside the APC and potentially backing candidates contesting against APC candidates in other elections.

It said the arrangement raised legitimate questions about how presidential support would coexist with competition against the President’s party in other electoral contests.

The group further referred to Wike’s political role ahead of the 2023 presidential election, when he was serving as Rivers State governor and was one of the leading members of the PDP’s G5 governors.

It challenged the minister to explain why APC governors should now participate in a political structure that does not operate under the authority of their party.

“There is no need to drag APC governors into a structure that is not APC, does not answer to the APC and may support candidates contesting against APC candidates in states and constituencies,” the organisation said.

The group backed the position recently announced by the Progressive Governors Forum that its members would campaign for President Tinubu and candidates sponsored by the APC at every level in the 2027 elections.

It described the position as consistent with party democracy and argued that neither an external coalition nor an individual political network should determine which candidates APC governors support.

The organisation consequently urged Wike to tone down his public exchanges with APC governors and avoid statements it believes could aggravate tensions within the ruling party.

“We call on Wike to stop the insults and the attempt to pit the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum against the party,” it said.

“Stop presenting a non-APC platform as if it were an APC alliance. The Rainbow Coalition is not the APC.”

The organisation reiterated its support for President Tinubu and the APC, saying its members would also support candidates officially sponsored by the ruling party.

“Our loyalty is to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to the All Progressives Congress and to every candidate duly sponsored by the party,” the statement added.

The intervention comes amid an escalating disagreement between Wike and some APC governors over the Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Wike has maintained that the coalition is intended to mobilise support across political parties for Tinubu’s re-election and is not an APC structure. He has also said that his support for the President does not prevent his political allies or other parties from fielding candidates against the APC in other elections.

The Progressive Governors Forum, however, has said its members will not support any political arrangement capable of weakening the APC or adversely affecting its candidates and that the governors’ campaign commitment will be exclusively to candidates sponsored by the party.