By BANNERNEWS Reporter
Legal practitioner and public commentator, Justice Osai Ahiakwo, has said the disagreement between Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the APC Governors’ Forum reflects a deeper contest over party identity, political authority and electoral support ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Ahiakwo, in an analysis titled “Rainbow Coalition: APC Governors, Wike and the Politics of Divided Electoral Support,” said the emerging political alignment around President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election had raised questions about whether cross-party mobilisation could coexist with the competing interests of political parties.
According to him, Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution protects freedom of association, but Section 221 places restrictions on associations other than registered political parties canvassing for votes or contributing to the funds of political parties.
He said the legal question was therefore not merely whether the Rainbow Coalition existed outside the formal structure of the APC, but what the coalition actually did in the electoral process, the candidates it supported and its compliance with relevant electoral laws.
Ahiakwo noted that Wike had distinguished between supporting Tinubu’s presidential re-election bid and supporting APC candidates in governorship and legislative elections, saying the position did not necessarily require him to abandon his PDP membership.
He, however, said the position did not eliminate the organisational concerns of the APC Governors’ Forum, noting that presidential, governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections formed part of the same electoral environment.
“Where a coalition supports a presidential candidate while backing candidates from other parties, questions may arise concerning party discipline, electoral coordination and control of political machinery,” he said.
Ahiakwo cautioned against interpreting the disagreement as proof that Wike’s political influence had ended, stressing that influence over a presidential contest was different from control of a political party’s formal structures.
He said registered political parties operated through recognised structures for candidate nomination, internal decision-making and participation in elections, adding that a coalition could mobilise political support without automatically acquiring authority over the structures, candidates or governors of another party.
The legal practitioner said the emerging political boundary would test whether cross-party mobilisation for Tinubu could coexist with the organisational interests of parties contesting other elections, while urging the APC governors to protect their party’s interests within the constitutional and electoral framework.
