Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has weighed in on the growing disagreement between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.
The dispute escalated after the APC Governors’ Forum, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, distanced itself from Wike’s Rainbow Coalition in Rivers State.
Uzodimma had said the APC governors would not support any political arrangement capable of undermining President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid or weakening the ruling party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Wike subsequently rejected the governors’ position, insisting that his support for Tinubu’s second-term bid did not mean the Peoples Democratic Party would abandon its right to field candidates in governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections.
The FCT minister also maintained that the Rainbow Coalition was not an APC arrangement, but a platform through which politicians from different parties could mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election.
Reacting during an appearance on Channels Television on Tuesday night, Fayose said the controversy should be viewed in the context of the personalities and institutions involved.
“Nigerians know who Wike is and the institution, the Governors’ Forum, and they are both saying different things in different ways,” Fayose said.
He, however, argued that the disagreement between Wike and the APC governors was not fundamentally about President Tinubu’s re-election.
According to the former governor, personal interests and political egos could also be contributing to the dispute.
“But don’t forget, everybody has his own ego. Every one of us, including myself,” Fayose added.
The disagreement comes amid heightened political activity ahead of the 2027 elections, with Wike maintaining that he would support Tinubu for president while insisting that the PDP remained free to contest other elective positions.
The APC governors, on their part, have said their campaign commitment is to the party’s candidates at all levels and that they would not support arrangements that could conflict with the interests of the APC.