ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Progressive Governors Forum has ruled out support for candidates outside the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections, declaring that APC governors will work exclusively for the party’s candidates and President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
The position, adopted at a meeting of APC governors in Abuja on Monday night, comes against the backdrop of the political activities surrounding the Rainbow Coalition led by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, announced the governors’ position after the closed-door meeting at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge.
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He said the governors would not endorse or participate in any political alliance that could weaken the APC, divide support for its candidates or threaten Tinubu’s bid for a second term.
“The APC Governors Forum unanimously resolved that its members will not participate in, support or endorse any alliance or political arrangement capable of undermining the re-election of Mr President, weakening the APC or adversely affecting any candidate of the party at all levels.
“In other words, the forum has no intention to support any candidate at any level that is not an APC candidate because our candidates who are contesting the election are being sponsored by our party.
“The governors’ campaign commitment is exclusively to all APC candidates. All levels of the party campaign architecture will align with the expectations of Mr President and the strategic objectives of the party,” Uzodimma said.
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The declaration effectively places APC governors behind the party’s candidates across the 2027 ballot, while rejecting arrangements that could produce competing political structures within or alongside the ruling party.
Vanguard reports that Uzodimma, who had recently been accused by Wike of sponsoring political attacks against him, did not name the FCT minister in announcing the forum’s position.
However, the timing of the declaration has drawn attention to the Rainbow Coalition, which Wike has continued to promote as a platform for mobilising support for Tinubu across party lines.
Wike remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party but has maintained that the coalition is focused on securing Tinubu’s re-election rather than weakening the APC.
The coalition has generated political tensions in several states, particularly where its supporters or candidates could operate outside the established APC campaign structure.
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The issue has raised concerns within sections of the ruling party about divided loyalties and the possibility of voters being presented with competing candidates or political interests claiming to support the same presidential candidate.
The APC governors’ position is that such arrangements could undermine the party’s candidates at other levels of the election even where they are intended to support Tinubu at the presidential level.
The governors consequently resolved that their campaign structures would remain aligned with the APC and its candidates, with each governor expected to take responsibility for the President’s re-election effort in their respective state.
The development adds another layer to the growing political contest ahead of 2027, as opposition groups and cross-party alliances intensify efforts to build alternative structures while the ruling party seeks to consolidate its electoral machinery.
For the APC governors, however, the latest position makes clear that their political campaign commitment will remain within the party’s formal structure and will not extend to candidates contesting under other platforms.