APC Group Warns Wike Against ‘Sowing Division’ In Party

The APC Grassroots Governance Organisation has called on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to stop what it described as attempts to create division within the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a statement by its spokesperson, Mukthar Taminu, the group also defended Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Hope Uzodimma, amid what it described as a campaign against him.

The group said Uzodimma had continued to demonstrate loyalty to the APC and President Bola Tinubu, while commending Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, for what it described as statesmanlike leadership.

“We have sadly noted that what the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has attempted in recent days is clear: to isolate Governor Uzodimma, Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, and set him against the party,” the statement said.

The organisation said Uzodimma had done nothing to warrant what it called a personal campaign against him, adding that “the party is bigger than any individual quarrel.”

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It accused Wike of using his recent remarks to create confusion within the ruling party and said the Rainbow Coalition should not be presented as an APC structure.

“Wike’s latest remarks are not about loyalty to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. They are about creating confusion, sowing division inside the APC, and presenting a parallel platform as if it were an extension of the ruling party. It is not,” the group said.

The organisation stressed that the Rainbow Coalition was not an organ or campaign structure of the APC and did not represent the party’s governors, candidates or members.

“We reiterate that, the Rainbow Coalition is not the APC. It is not an APC organ. It is not an APC campaign structure,” the statement said.

“It does not speak for APC governors, APC candidates, or APC members.”

The group further criticised Wike for remaining a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while, according to the statement, seeking to influence how APC governors conduct their campaigns.

“A man who still remains in the PDP, who insists he will not join the APC, and who now seeks to dictate how APC governors should campaign, cannot claim to have the President’s interest at heart,” it said.

The group also questioned Wike’s political position by referring to his role as a former PDP governor and asking whether he would have worked with Tinubu if he had been offered the vice-presidential slot in 2023.

It argued that support for Tinubu could not be separated from support for the APC, which produced him and the candidates contesting under its platform.

“Divided loyalty is not strategy. It is sabotage dressed up as mobilisation,” the statement said.

The organisation said the PGF had already made its position clear that APC governors would campaign for Tinubu and other candidates sponsored by the party.

“The Progressive Governors Forum has already spoken with one voice: APC governors will campaign for the President and for every APC candidate at every level. That is the correct position. That is party democracy,” it said.

It added that “No minister, no coalition, and no personal network has the authority to rewrite it.”

The APC group subsequently urged Wike to end what it described as attacks on Uzodimma and attempts to portray the Rainbow Coalition as an APC alliance.

“Therefore, we call on Wike to stop this course. Stop the insults. Stop the attempt to pit the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum against the party. Stop presenting a non-APC platform as if it were an APC alliance,” the statement said.

The group reaffirmed its support for Tinubu, the APC and candidates sponsored by the party, saying: “Our loyalty is to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to the All Progressives Congress, and to every candidate duly sponsored by the party.”