Rainbow Coalition: ‘We Need Wike As Wike Needs Us’ – Umahi

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said he and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, remain members of the same political family despite differences over the controversial Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Umahi made the clarification on Wednesday in Abuja while addressing journalists on Federal Government’s infrastructure projects.

The former Ebonyi State governor dismissed reports of a serious disagreement between him and Wike, saying their political relationship had remained intact despite attempts by opponents to portray them as being at loggerheads.

“We need Wike as Wike needs us. So, it’s one family,” Umahi said.

His comments came against the backdrop of earlier disagreements within the All Progressives Congress over the Rainbow Coalition, a political platform promoted by Wike to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

Wike has repeatedly maintained that the coalition is not an APC platform and that its objective is to bring politicians from different parties together to support Tinubu at the presidential level.

He has also argued that politicians can support Tinubu for president while remaining in their respective political parties and making their own choices in governorship and legislative elections.

The position has, however, generated concerns among some APC leaders, particularly governors who fear that such an arrangement could affect the party’s candidates in other elections.

In September, Umahi had rejected reports of a Rainbow Coalition arrangement in Ebonyi State while speaking during an inspection of the Calabar-Abuja Superhighway in Benue State.

When asked about his relationship with Wike and claims that a similar political structure was being established in Ebonyi, Umahi said there was no such arrangement in the state.

“If Wike has candidates here, he has not told me. And his candidate cannot break our relationship, but his candidate is not part of our relationship. There is no rainbow coalition in Ebonyi State,” he said.

The APC leadership in the South-East had also earlier rejected the Rainbow Coalition and expressed support for the Progressive Governors’ Forum led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma.

The South-East APC leadership, comprising party structures in Ebonyi, Abia, Anambra, Enugu and Imo states, had criticised Wike’s remarks against governors who opposed his political arrangement and vowed to resist moves capable of weakening the party ahead of the 2027 elections.

Uzodimma had similarly said the governors would not participate in or endorse an alliance that could undermine Tinubu’s re-election, the APC or its candidates at other levels.

Wike, however, has continued to defend the coalition, insisting that it was designed specifically to secure support for Tinubu.

“Most importantly, Rainbow Coalition has nothing to do with the APC. Rather, it is my own way of mobilising support across political parties for Mr President, who has done well to deserve a second term,” Wike had said.

Umahi, who left the Peoples Democratic Party for the APC before becoming a minister, also explained his decision to leave the opposition party.

He said his defection was partly influenced by what he described as the PDP’s failure to recognise and adequately reward the political support it received from the South-East.

“We supported PDP. We voted for presidents in PDP. And when it was our time for them to honour us, they did not honour us. They maltreated us,” Umahi said.

The minister also warned politicians planning to campaign in Ebonyi against using their campaigns to promote hate speech or cause disorder in the state.

“Anybody that wants to campaign, come and campaign. But don’t dish out hate speeches and you want to take those speeches, and you want that we should lay a red carpet for you. We will not do that,” he said.

“Nobody can foment crisis in Ebonyi State,” Umahi added.

The Works Minister also rejected allegations that he had used his position to concentrate Federal Government projects in the South-East.

Umahi said the projects being executed in the region were part of the broader infrastructure programme of the Tinubu administration and were not projects personally allocated by him.

“I saw on social media where they say I cornered all projects to Southeast. That is very wonderful. But we have the publication of all projects ongoing by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, so they darken counsel without knowledge,” he said.

“I’m not on my own. The President is my boss. So where will he be when I corner all projects to Southeast?” Umahi asked.

He said the South-East might not rank first in terms of the volume of Federal Government projects compared with other regions, but stressed that the region was no longer being left behind.

“I was a party chairman. I was a deputy governor. I was governor. And no single project of the Federal Government came to South-East,” Umahi said.

“Today, we are having a barrage of projects. We may not be the first, second or third in terms of the volume of projects in the regions, but we are not the last,” he added.

Umahi cited projects including the Obanewi-Okiwe axis linking parts of Imo State, a road connecting Otuocha in Anambra State to Ibaji in Kogi State, the Second Niger Bridge and associated bypass projects as examples of infrastructure being delivered in the region.

He urged people of the South-East to reciprocate the Federal Government’s interventions by embracing broader political cooperation with other regions.

“This is the right time. Let us have a handshake across the Niger, so that when our time comes, we will also be supported,” he said.

Umahi also made his support for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid clear, saying his backing was based on his assessment of the President’s vision, reforms and infrastructure programme.

“What gave rise to this is because I believe in President Bola Tinubu. I believe that he’s the one called by God. I believe in his vision. I believe in his reforms. I believe he’s the best person that I have worked with and for, and I’m very proud of working for him and working with him,” he said.

The minister argued that continuity would be necessary to ensure that major infrastructure projects are completed, warning that a change in government could affect ongoing projects.

“If, God forbid, another person says he’s President, all these projects will be stalled. And I don’t think Ebonyi wants their projects to be stalled,” Umahi said.

He also highlighted the scale of the infrastructure challenge inherited by his ministry, saying it took over 2,068 ongoing projects valued at about N13tn.

Umahi maintained that the Tinubu administration was working to address the infrastructure deficit through projects across the country, insisting that the government’s interventions were not limited to any particular region.

“There is no part of this country, there is no state that is not a construction site under President Bola Tinubu,” he said.