2027: APC Governors Plot Alliance With Atiku Against Wike

Some APC governors are reportedly weighing a working arrangement with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 elections, amid mounting tensions over the political activities of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

The disclosure was made on Wednesday by Yusuf Musa, an APC member, Arewa Consultative Forum chieftain and promoter of the Tinubu Continuity Project.

According to Musa, the discussions are being driven by concerns that Wike’s Rainbow Coalition could weaken the electoral prospects of APC candidates in several states. He said the governors were not preparing to quit the ruling party, but were exploring other political partnerships to protect their interests.

“The APC governors believe they should also be free to explore alternative political relationships if Wike could mobilise politicians from different parties against their interests while simultaneously supporting Tinubu at the presidential level,” Musa said.

The reported talks with Atiku come against the backdrop of a widening dispute between Wike and some APC governors over his mobilisation efforts for the 2027 elections.

Wike, a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party who serves in the APC-led Federal Government, has endorsed President Bola Tinubu’s bid for a second term. However, he has also argued that backing Tinubu at the presidential level does not require him to support APC candidates in governorship and legislative contests.

That position has unsettled some APC governors, who fear that political structures being developed in their states could be used to promote candidates running against the party.

The APC Governors’ Forum, chaired by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, has opposed arrangements it believes could damage the party’s chances in 2027. Wike, in turn, has criticised some of his opponents, including Uzodimma, Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun.

Musa said the governors could pursue alternative alliances if Tinubu and the APC leadership failed to settle the dispute.

“If President Tinubu and the APC leadership cannot rein in Wike, then what stops the governors whose political future is being threatened from building alternative political relationships outside the ruling party,” he said.

He had earlier warned on TVC’s Breakfast Show that Wike’s continued political activities could intensify divisions within the APC.

“If he doesn’t retrace his steps and allow us to campaign in peace, we are going to make this country very hot for him,” Musa said.

Musa maintained that the governors’ concerns were not centred on Tinubu’s prospects of winning another term. Rather, he said, they were worried about the effect of Wike’s coalition on their own governorship and legislative races.

“The governors are not entertaining any fears that Tinubu will not win his re-election. However, their fears are rooted in Wike’s claims that the President had already ceded nine states to his coalition in the governorship and legislative elections,” he said.

Wike has denied that Tinubu handed nine states to his coalition, although he has said the President knows about his political mobilisation and its objectives.

Musa also pointed to the possibility that candidates backed by Wike could win on opposition platforms before later moving to the APC.

“The governors are not unmindful of the fact that Tinubu will not be seeking another election after 2027 and that it would cost him practically nothing to cede some states, as Wike claimed,” he said.

“With the fluid nature of Nigerian politics, it would take these Wike-aligned coalition politicians nothing to defect to the APC after winning the 2027 governorship and legislative elections in their respective states.”

He referred to the movement of governors from Bayelsa, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Taraba, Enugu, Adamawa, Kano and Rivers from opposition parties into the APC as evidence that political loyalties can shift after elections.

Against this background, the alleged engagement with Atiku appears to be a possible countermeasure by the governors rather than proof that they intend to leave the APC.

Atiku is expected to seek the presidency in 2027 under the African Democratic Congress.